THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

PRESENTED  BY 

PROF. CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


. 

iv 


STUDIES    IN    RUSSIA 


STUDIES    IN    RUSSIA 


BY 

AUGUSTUS    J.    C.    HARE 

AUTHOR  OF 

WALKS  IN  ROME"  "CITIES  OF  NORTHERN  AND  CENTRAL  ITALY" 
"WANDERINGS  IN  SPAIN"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK:  MACMILLAN  &  COMPANY 
LONDON:  GEORGE  ALLEN 

1896 


TO 


THE    KIND    COMPANIONS    OF   THREE    FOREIGN    JOURNEYS 


THIS     VOLUME     IS     DEDICATED 


I  - 


PREFACE. 


'A  FOREIGNER  must  spend  two  years  in  our  country  before 
he  can  judge  of  it,'  say  the  Russians,  and  the  author  of  the 
following  chapters  feels  bound  to  confess  at  the  outset  that 
he  has  only  passed  one  summer  there.  He  would  not  have 
ventured  to  write,  much  less  to  publish,  anything  he  had 
written  about  it,  if  it  were  not  that,  when  he  was  in  the 
country,  he  had  himself  felt  intensely  the  want  of  such 
assistance  as  may  be  found  in  this  volume.  Few  English 
travellers  know  Russian  enough  to  enable  them  to  ask 
questions  or  to  understand  verbal  information  ;  the  meagre 
existing  English  handbooks  give  a  useful  catalogue  of  the 
sights  in  the  principal  towns,  but  scarcely  any  information 
as  to  their  meaning  or  history  ;  and  much  thus  passes  un- 
observed or  misunderstood  which  might  lend  a  great  charm 
to  the  usual  monotony  of  a  Russian  tour.  This  book  does 
not  profess  to  contain  many  original  observations,  but  it  is  a 
gathering  up  of  such  information  as  its  author  has  been  able 
to  obtain  from  the  lips  or  writings  of  those  better  informed 


viii  PREFACE. 

than  himself,  and  for  which  he  would  have  been  so  thankful 
before  his  own  visit  to  Russia,  that  he  believes  it  will  not  be 
unwelcome  to  others,  especially  to  those  who  are  likely  to 
travel  in  that  country. 

The  illustrations  are  from  the  author's  own  sketches 
taken  upon  the  spot,  under  the  fear,  almost  the  certainty,  of 
arrest,  and  sometimes  of  imprisonment,  till  the  rare  official 
could  be  found  who  was  capable  of  reading  the  various 
permits  with  which  he  was  furnished.  The  drawings  have 
been  transferred  to  wood  by  the  skill  of  Mr.  T.  Sulman. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  .  I 


CHAPTER    II. 

ST.    PETERSBURG        .........          28 

CHAPTER    III. 

EXCURSIONS    ROUND   ST.    PETERSBURG        .....       122 

CHAPTER   IV. 

NOVOGOROD    THE    GREAT  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       l66 

CHAPTER    V. 
MOSCOW  (THE  INNER  CIRCLES) 196 

CHAPTER   VI. 
MOSCOW  (THE  OUTER  CIRCLES)       ......     281 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

I'ACE 

THE    MONASTERIES    NEAR    MOSCOW    .  .  .  .  .  316 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    NEW  JERUSALEM 369 

CHAPTER    IX. 

KIEFF        .......••••       427 

CHAPTER   X. 

A    GLIMPSE   OF    POLAND' 4^3 


INDEX 497 


CHAPTER   I. 
IN  TROD  UCTOR  Y. 

THE  best  time  for  visiting  Russia  is  always  said  to  be 
the  winter,  but  those  who  wish  to  sketch  must  go 
there  in  the  summer  months.  There  they  will  then  find 
S.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  which  are  so  gay  in  the  snow- 
time,  almost  deserted  ;  everyone  has  gone  into  the  country. 
But  except  for  the  sake  of  studying  native  manners  and 
customs,  and  the  melancholy  monotone  of  rural  life  which 
Gogol  has  described  so  well,  few  travellers  will  follow  them 
thither.  For  cursory  visitors  all  the  interest  of  Russia  north 
of  the  Crimea  is  confined  to  the  cities,  though  native  authors, 
Pouchkine,  Gogol,  Tourgueneff,  Koltsov,  teach  us  how  to 
make  the  utmost  of  the  charms  which  the  calm,  sleepy 
existence  of  country  life  has  to  offer,  especially  in  the 
Ukraine.  As  to  scenery,  no  one  must  expect  any  striking 
beauty  in  Russia  ;  it  does  not  possess  any,  and  except  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  some  of  the  towns — which  have 
chosen  all  the  best  situations — there  is  scarcely  anything 
which  can  be  even  called  pretty.  The  desolation  is  also 
extreme,  for  no  country  is  more  thinly  inhabited.  The  time 
when  Russia  shows  at  its  best  is  just  after  the  sudden,  almost 
instantaneous  change  from  winter  to  a  verdant  flower-laden 
spring  of  indescribable  radiance  and  freshness. 

B 


2  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  The  whole  countrey  differeth  very  much  from  it  selfe,  by  reason  of 
the  yeere  :  so  that  a  man  would  marueille  to  see  the  great  alteration 
and  difference  betwixt  the  winter,  and  the  summer  Russia.  The  whole 
countrey  in  the  winter  lieth  under  snow,  which  falleth  continually,  and 
is  sometime  of  a  yard  or  two  thicke,  but  greater  towards  the  north. 
The  rivers  and  other  waters  are  all  frosen  vp  a  yard  or  more  thicke, 
how  swift  or  broade  soeuer  they  bee.  And  this  continueth  commonly 
flue  moneths,  viz. ,  from  the  beginning  of  November  till  towardes  the 
ende  of  March,  what  time  the  snow  beginneth  to  melt.  So  that  it 
would  breede  a  frost  in  a  man  to  looke  abroad  at  that  time,  and  see 
the  winter  face  of  that  countrey.  The  sharpnesse  of  the  aire  you  may 
judge  of  by  this  :  for  that  water  dropped  down  or  cast  vp  into  the  aire 
congealeth  into  yce  before  it  come  to  the  ground.  In  the  extremitie  of 
winter,  if  you  holde  a  pewter  dish  or  pot  in  your  hand,  or  any  other 
metall  (except  in  some  chamber  where  their  warme  stoaues  bee),  your 
fingers  will  friese  fast  vnto  it,  and  drawe  off  the  skinne  at  the  parting. 
When  you  passe  out  of  a  warme  roome  into  a  colde,  you  shall  sensibly 
feele  your  breathe  to  waxe  starke,  and  euen  stifeling  with  the  colde,  as 
you  drawe  it  in  and  out.  Diuers  not  onely  that  trauel  abroad,  but  in 
the  very  markets  and  streetes  of  their  townes,  are  mortally  pinched 
and  killed  withall :  so  that  you  shall  see  many  drop  downe  in  the 
streetes  ;  many  trauellers  brought  into  the  townes  sitting  dead  and 
stiffe  in  their  sleds.  Diuers  lose  their  noses,  the  tips  of  their  eares,  and 
the  bals  of  their  cheeks,  their  toes,  feete,  &c.  Many  times  (when  the 
winter  is  very  hard  and  extreame)  the  beares  and  wolfes  issue  by  troupes 
out  of  the  woods  driuen  by  hunger,  and  enter  the  villages,  tearing  and 
rauening  all  they  can  finde  :  so  that  the  inhabitants  are  faine  to  flic  for 
safeguard  of  their  lines.  And  yet  in  the  summer  time  you  shall  see 
such  a  new  hiew  and  face  of  a  countrey,  the  woods  (for  the  most  part 
which  are  all  of  firre  and  birch),  so  fresh  and  so  sweete,  the  pastures 
and  medowes  so  greene  and  well  growen  (and  that  vpon  the  sudden), 
such  varietie  of  flowers,  such  noyse  of  birdes  (specially  of  nightingales, 
that  seeme  to  be  more  lowde  and  of  a  more  variable  note  than  in  other 
countreys)  that  a  man  shall  not  lightly  trauell  in  a  more  pleasant 
countrey.' — Dr.  Giles  Fletcher,  Ambassador  from  Elizabeth  to  the 
7^sar  Feodor  Ivanovitch,  1588. 

A  traveller  accustomed  to  the  freedom  of  the  rest  of 
Europe  will  be  intensely  worried  by  the  tyranny  which  is 
exercised  over  him  in  Russia,  and  which  will  call  all  his 


TRAVELLING  IN  RUSSIA.  3 

powers  of  patience  into  unceasing  and  vigilant  practice. 
There  is  no  end  to  the  orders  which  are  necessary  for  all 
sights,  almost  for  all  actions,  or  to  the  degree  in  which 
every  official,  generally  in  proportion  to  his  inferiority  and 
subordinateness,  exacts  to  the  uttermost  the  little  meed  of 
attention  which  he  thinks  due  to  his  self-esteem,  his  fees, 
or  more  especially  his  expectation  of  a  bribe,  and  his  habit 
of  receiving  it.  Many  of  the  sights  of  S.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow  are  said  to  be  freely  open  ;  the  fact  is  just 
the  contrary.  A  visitor  can  see  nothing  unaccompanied, 
neither  museum,  palace,  school,  hospital,  nor  anything  else. 
The  manners  and  politeness  of  the  East  are  made  an  excuse 
for  never  leaving  a  foreigner  alone,  under  an  outward  pre- 
text of  doing  him  honour.  To  make  a  sketch,  not  only  of 
an  interior,  but  even  of  any  external  view,  an  order,  signed 
and  countersigned,  is  necessary,  and  even  then  is  utterly 
inefficient  to  protect  the  artist,  who  is  often  dragged  for 
miles  to  the  police  stations,  because  the  police  themselves 
cannot  read.  One  piece  at  least  of  the  admirable  dying 
advice  which  the  Grand  Prince  Vladimir  Monomachus 
gave  to  his  children  in  1126  is  entirely  neglected  at  the 
present  time  in  his  country — 

'  Pay  especial  respect  to  strangers,  of  whatever  quality  ,or  whatever 
rank  they  may  be,  and  if  you  are  not  in  a  position  to  overwhelm  them 
with  gifts,  expend  for  them  at  least  the  proofs  of  your  good  will,  for 
upon  the  manner  in  which  they  are  treated  in  a  country  depends  the 
good  or  the  evil  which  they  will  speak  of  it  in  their  own. ' 

Nevertheless,  an  English  traveller,  possessed  of  a  firm 
intention  of  conquering  difficulties  and  laughing  at  de- 
ficiencies and  disagreeables,  will  find  much  in  Russia  to 
enjoy.  It  is  not  the  country  or  the  buildings,  but  the  life 

B    2 


4  '   STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

itself  which  make  its  picturesqueness,  especially  to  one  who 
has  not  seen  the  East. 

'  On  se  sent,  en  Russie,  a  la  porte  d'une  autre  terre,  pres  de  cet 
Orient  d'ou  sont  sorties  tant  de  croyances  religieuses,  et  qui  renferme 
encore  dans  son  sein  d'incroyables  tresors  de  perseverance  et  de 
reflexion.'— Madame  de  Stall 

Better  acquaintance  also  will  show  that  the  influence  of 
the  East  is  not  confined  to  externals,  and  that  Oriental 
mysticism  has  still  a  stronger  hold  than  European  civilisa- 
tion upon  the  country. 

'  La  Russie  est  un  immense  edifice  a  exterieur  europeen,  orne  d'un 
fronton  europeen,  mais,  a  1'interieur,  meuble  et  administre  a  1'asiatique. 
La  tres  grande  majorite  des  fonctionnaires  russes,  deguises  en  costumes 
plus  ou  moins  europeens,  precedent  dans  1'exercice  de  leurs  fonctions  en 
vrais  Tartares.' — Prince  Dolgoroiiki. 

'  C'est  un  pays  a  la  fois  neuf  et  vieux,  une  monarchic  asiatique,  et 
une  colonie  europeenne  ;  c'est  un  Janus  a  deux  tetes,  occidental  par  sa 
jeune  face,  oriental  par  sa  face  vieillie.' — Anatole  Leroy  Beaulieu 
(Revue  des  Deux-Mondes,  1873). 

The  capabilities  and  powers  of  Russia  are  quite  out  of 
proportion  to  its  past  history,  but  it  is  impossible  for  an 
outsider  to  foretell  what  its  aspirations  for  the  future  may 
be.  It  is  only  certain  that  those  who  know  Russia  best  are 
those  who  consider  the  ordinary  impressions  of  it  the  most 
erroneous. 

*  There  is  a  widely  spread  belief  in  Europe  that  Russia  is  an  ambi- 
tious colossus,  thirsting  after  conquest,  and  aspiring  to  universal 
monarchy.  .  .  .  The  impulse  of  development  .drove  it  to  the  conquest 
of  the  Baltic  and  Pontic  countries,  by  which  means  it  first  became  a 
State,  and  entered  the  circle  of  modern  civilised  empires.  Russia  indeed 
made  further  conquests  of  parts  of  Poland  proper,  the  Caucasian  coun- 
tries, &c. ,  but  she  has ,  never  derived  any  real  advantage  from  these 


A  US  STAN  POLITICS.  5 

conquests— she  looks  forward  to  realise  them  in  a  distant  future.  From 
henceforth  every  further  conquest  would  be  a  source  of  incalculable 
embarrassment.  Where  is  it  supposed  that  Russia  wishes  to  extend 
her  conquests  ?  An  increase  of  territory  on  the  side  of  Sweden  were 
madness  :  Finland  itself  is  only  valuable  as  a  fortress  to  protect  S. 
Petersburg.  Conquests  in  the  West?  Poland  is  already  more  a 
burden  than  an  advantage  to  Russia.  The  Caucasian  countries,  in 
comparison  with  what  they  have  cost,  have  not  the  slightest  real  value 
for  her.  The  frontier-line  towards  Persia  and  Asia  Minor  is  at  present 
drawn  so  favourably  for  .Russia  that  any  further  conquest  in  thai 
quarter  must  appear  insanity. 

*  But  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  ?  Can  it  be  believed  possible  to 
govern  Constantinople  from  S.  Petersburg  ?  The  entire  equilibrium 
of  the  government  would  be  destroyed,  and  the  weight  of  power  would 
necessarily  seek  other  points  in  the  Empire,  such  as  Kharkof  or 
Odessa,  instead  of  Moscow  and  S.  Petersburg. 

'  There  exists  no  trace  of  any  warlike  idea  of  conquest  in  the 
Russian  people  :  there  is  indeed  a  "  Young  Russia,"  as  there  is  a 
Young  Europe,  a  Young  Germany,  a  Young  Italy  :  this  belongs  to  the 
development  of  modern  civilisation.  Young  Russia  dreams  of  a  great 
Slavonic  empire,  of  the  restoration  of  Byzantium,  of  the  ancient 
Tzargorod,  but  these  dreams  have  never  penetrated  among  the  people.' 
Haxthausen,  '  The  Riissian  Empire.'' 

Of  late  years,  since  the  word  '  Nihilist,'  first  explained  by 
S.  Augustine,1  has  been  brought  into  common  acceptance, 
the  Russian  government  has  been  chiefly  occupied  by  its 
internal  difficulties  and  dangers.  The  unhappy  position 
of  the  Tsar  is  even  far  worse  than  when,  in  1839,  M.  de 
Custine  wrote — 

'  Le  souverain  absolu  est  de  tons  les  hommes  celui  qui  moralement 
souffre  le  plus  de  1'inegalite  cles  conditions  ;  et  ses  peines  sont  d'autant 
plus  grandes,  qu'enviees  du  vulgaire  elles  doivent  paraitre  irremediables 
a  celui  qui  les  subit.' 


1  '  Nihilisti  appellantur,  quia  nihil  credunt  et  nihil  decent.'  Russian  society  was 
first  reminded  of  the  expression  by  Ivan  Tourgu£neff  in  his  novel,  Parents  and 
Children,  in  which  the  '  nihilist '  Bazarof  plays  a  principal  part. 


6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

•And  yet,  nominally,  the  Tsar  is  still  as  omnipotent  as  in 
the  old  times  when  we  read — • 

*  II  (le  tsar)  dit,  et  tout  est  fait :  la  fortune  des  la'iques  et  du 
clerge,  des  seigneurs  et  des  citoyens,  tout  depend  de  sa  volonte  supreme. 
II  ignore  la  contradiction,  et  tout  en  lui  semble  juste,  comme  dans  la 
divinite  ;  car  les  Russes  sont  persuades  que  le  grand  prince  est  1'execu- 
teur  des  decrets  celestes  :  ainsi  Pont  voitlu  Dieu  et  le  prince,  Dieti  et  le 
prince  le  savtnt,  telles  sont  les  locutions  ordinaires  parmi  eux. ' l 

and  when  we  read — 

'  He  who  blasphemes  his  Maker  meets  with  forgiveness  among  men, 
but  he  who  reviles  the  Emperor  is  sure  to  lose  his  head.' — Travels  of 
Macarius,  ii.  73. 

In  colleges  or  council-halls  a  triangular  mirror — the 
'  Mirror  of  Conscience ' — is  always  set  up  to  typify  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Emperor,  and  thus  to  solemnise  the  proceedings. 

'  Cette  population  d'automates  ressemble  a  la  moitie  d'une  partie 
d'echecs  ;  car  un  seul  homme  fait  jouer  toutes  les  pieces,  et  1'adversaire 
invisible,  c'est  1'humanite.  On  ne  se  meut,  on  ne  respire  ici  que  par 
une  permission  ou  par  un  ordre  imperial ;  aussi  tout  est-il  sombre  et 
contraint  ;  le  silence  preside  a  la  vie  et  la  paralyse.  Officiers,  cochers, 
Cosaques,  courtisans,  tous  serviteurs  du  meme  maitre  avec  des  grades 
divers,  obeissent  aveuglement  a  une  pensee  qu'ils  ignorent ;  c'est  un 
chef-d'oeuvre  de  discipline,  mais  taut  de  regularite  ne  s'obtient  que  par 
1'absence  complete  d'independance. 

'  Le  gouvernement  russe,  c'est  la  discipline  du  camp  substitute  a 
Pordre  de  la  cite,  c'est  1'etat  de  siege  devenu  1'etat  normal  de  la 
societe.' — M.  de  Ciistine. 

'  The  patriarchal  government,  feelings,  and  organisation  are  in  full 
activity  in  the  life,  manners,  and  customs  of  the  Great  Russians.  The 
same  unlimited  authority  \vhich  the  father  exercises  over  all  his  children 
is  possessed  by  the  mother  over  her  daughters  :  the  same  reverence 
and  obedience  are  shown  to  the  Communal  authorities,  the  Starostas 
and  Whiteheads,  and  to  the  common  father  of  all,  the  Tsar.  The 
Russian  addresses  the  same  word  to  his  real  father,  to  the  Starosta, 

1  From  the  letters  of  Baron  d'Herbestein,  ambassador  from  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian to  the  Tsar  Vasili-Ivanovitch. 


THE   TSAR.  7 

to  his  master,  to  the  Emperor,  and  finally  to  God,  viz.,  Father 
(Batiushkd) ;  in  like  manner  he  calls  every  Russian,  whether  known  to 
him  or  not,  Brother  (Brat}. 

'  The  common  Russian  (Muzhik}  entertains  no  slavish,  but  simply  a 
childlike  fear  and  veneration  for  the  Tsar  ;  he  loves  him  with  a  devoted 
tenderness.  He  becomes  a  soldier  reluctantly,  but,  once  a  soldier,  he 
has  no  feeling  of  vindictiveness  for  the  coercion  exercised  upon  him, 
but  serves  the  Tsar  with  the  utmost  fidelity.  The  celebrated  expression 
"  Prikazeno  "  (it  is  ordered)  has  a  magical  power  over  him.  Whatever 
the  Emperor  commands  must  be  done  ;  the  Russian  cannot  conceive 
the  impossibility  of  its  execution  :  the  orders  of  the  police  are  not  even 
worded  Zaprestcheno  (it  is  forbidden),  but  Neprikazeno  (it  is  not  ordered). 
The  profound  veneration  felt  for  the  Tsar  is  also  shown  in  the  case  of 
everything  belonging  to  him  ;  the  Russian  has  the  deepest  respect  for 
the  Kaziomne,  or  property  of  Tsar.  ' '  Kaziomne  does  not  die,  does 
not  burn  in  fire,  or  drown  in  water,"  is  a  Russian  proverb. 

'  There  is  scarcely  an  instance  recorded  of  any  collectors  of  the 
Crown  taxes,  who  often  traverse  the  country  with  considerable  sums  of 
money,  being  attacked  and  robbed.  In  the  north,  in  the  government 
of  Vologda,  where  the  morals  of  the  people  are  still  particularly  pure 
and  simple,  and  great  confidence  and  honesty  prevail,  when  a  collector 
enters  a  village,  he  taps  at  each  window  and  calls  out  "  Kaza  !  "  Then 
each  person  brings  out  his  Crown  tax  for  the  year,  and  throws  it  into 
the  open  bag :  the  collector  does  not  count  the  money,  being  well 
assured  that  he  is  never  cheated.  If  his  visit  is  in  the  night,  he  enters 
the  first  substantial  house,  places  his  money-bag  under  the  image  of  the 
Saint,  looks  for  a  place  to  rest  on,  and  sleeps,  with  a  perfect  assurance 
of  finding  his  money  safe  in  the  morning. 

'  The  Tsar  is  the  father  of  his  people  ;  but  the  descent,  and  even 
the  sex,  of  the  sovereign  is  indifferent  to  them.  Ruric  and  the  Varan- 
gians were  invited  into  the  country,  and  were  obeyed  like  hereditary 
chiefs.  The  Empress  Catherine  II.,  a  foreign  princess,  experienced  the 
same  veneration  and  attachment  as  princes  born  in  Russia  :  she  became 
nationalised  on  assuming  the  Tsardom.  The  profound  veneration  for 
authority  passes  to  the  person  of  everyone  who  assumes  the  office  of 
Tsar.' — Haxthatisen,  '  The  Russian  Empire  S 

It  is  certain  that  no  position  of  temptation  can  possibly 
be  more  terrible  than  that  of  the  Tsar,  who,  nourished  in 
self-idolatry,  constantly  hears  his  infallibility  proclaimed  by 


8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

eighty-two  millions  of  his  subjects.  And  it  is  extraordinary 
that,  in  spite  of  such  temptation,  all  the  sovereigns,  since  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great  and  the  Empire,  have  lived,  in 
various  degrees,  according  to  their  light,  for  the  good  of 
their  people.  They  have  not,  however,  always  continued 
the  liberal  policy  of  Peter,  and,  under  several  of  the  sove- 
reigns who  succeeded  Catherine  II.,  genius  was  always 
looked  upon  as  a  sure  passport  for  Siberia.  It  did  not 
create  any  surprise  when,  one  day,  at  the  Council  of  Censure, 
a  high  official  declared  that  '  every  writer  is  a  bear  who  ought 
to  be  kept  in  chains.'  Under  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  none 
even  of  the  books  published  under  his  predecessors  could 
be  brought  out  again  unless  submitted  to  changes,  so  vigilant 
was  the  censorship  of  the  press.  Yet  some  regard  this  reign 
as  the  golden  age  of  Russian  literature,  because  it  was  then 
entirely  freed  from  foreign  influences.  The  sufferings  of 
a  native  author  at  this  time  are,  however,  vividly  described 
by  Tourgueneff : — 

*  Life  at  this  time  was  very  hard,  and  the  young  generation  of 
to-day  has  had  nothing  like  it  to  bear.  In  the  morning  the  censor 
returned  your  proofs  full  of  erasures,  covered  with  words  written 
in  red  ink,  and  as  if  they  were  stained  with  blood.  Sometimes  one 
was  obliged  to  have  an  interview  with  the  censor,  to  listen  to  his  sen- 
tences without  appeal,  and  often  ironical.  In  the  street  you  met  a 
general  or  head  clerk,  who  overwhelmed  you  with  abuse,  or  paid  you 
compliments,  which  was  worse.  When  one  looked  around  one,  one 
saw  venality  in  full  play,  serfdom  weighing  down  the  people  like  a 
rock,  barracks  rising  everywhere  :  there  was  no  justice,  the  closing  of 
the  universities  was  under  discussion,  travelling  abroad  was  impossible, 
one  could  not  order  any  serious  book,  a  dark  cloud  weighed  over  what 
was  then  called  the  administration  of  literature  and  science  ;  denuncia- 
tion penetrated  everywhere  ;  amongst  young  people,  there  was  no 
common  bond,  nor  any  general  interests  j  fear  and  flattery  existed 
everywhere. ' — Recollections  of.  Bielinsky. 


EMANCIPATION   OF  SERFS.      .  9 

Under  Nicholas  it  was  forbidden  to  speak  even  of  such 
a  Russian  ruler  as  Ivan  the  Terrible  as  a  tyrant.  No  one 
was  permitted  to  make  a  scientific  tour  in  Russia  without 
special  authorisation.  No  one  could  leave  the  country  without 
a  permission  which  was  obtained  with  difficulty  on  payment 
of  a  tax  equivalent  to  two  thousand  francs.1  Russia  was 
thus  hermetically  sealed.  There  is  a  proverb  which  says— 
'The  gates  of  Russia  are  wide  to  those  who  enter,  but 
narrow  to  those  who  would  go  out.' 

Warned  by  the  failure  of  the  policy  of  Nicholas,  which 
cost  Russia  her  dominion  of  the  Black  Sea  and  her  pro- 
tectorate of  the  Christians  of  the  East,  a  reign  of  comparative 
liberty  was  inaugurated  under  his  successor  Alexander  II. 
The  system  which  consisted  in  governing  Russia  without 
any  participation  of  the  country  in  its  own  affairs  was  con- 
demned. It  seemed  in  the  first  years  of  Alexander  II. 
as  if  the  conservative  Russia  of  Nicholas  had  passed  away 
for  ever.  Men  of  letters,  condemned  or  watched  during 
the  last  reign,  guided  public  opinion.  But  it  was  realised 
that  no  other  serious  reform  could  be  carried  out,  till  the 
greatest  of  all  was  effected— the  emancipation  of  the  serfs. 
These  owed  their  enthralment  to  the  administration  of  Boris 
Godunof  as  minister  of  Feodor  Ivanovitch  (1584-98),  when, 
to  gratify  the  nobles,  he  interdicted  the  peasantry  from  passing 
from  the  domains  of  one  landlord  to  another,  a  cruel  law 
which  was  soon  found  to  place  them  at  the  mercy  of  the 
lords  of  the  soil,  and  against  which  they  murmured  ever 
after,  sometimes  revolting  into  the  Cossack  life  of  the  Don 
and  the  Dniester.  If  the  nobles  and  grandees  quarrelled 
amongst  themselves,  their  serfs  were  only  the  more  oppressed 

1  Victor  Tissot. 


io  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

— '  When  wolves  fight,  sheep  lose  their  wool,'  was  a  Russian 
proverb.  Even  after  abundant  harvests,  the  peasantry  were 
often  compelled  to  starve,  that  their  lords  in  Moscow  and 
S.  Petersburg  might  wallow  in  luxuries. 

1 A  few  cities  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  life,  and  exhibit  palaces,  because 
whole  provinces  lie  desolate,  or  contain  only  wretched  hovels,  in  which 
you  would  expect  to  find  bears,  rather  than  men. ' — Memoirs  of  the 
Court  of  Petersburg,  p.  268. 

There  were  above  forty-seven  millions  of  serfs  in  Russia, 
of  which  twenty-one  millions  belonged  to  private  landowners, 
and  one  million  and  a  half  belonged  to  the  dvorovie  or 
servant-class.  In  resigning  themselves  to  whatever  treat- 
ment they  received  personally,  the  serfs  never  forgot  their 
ancient  rights  to  the  soil.  '  Our  backs  belong  to  the  land- 
lord, but  the  soil  to  ourselves,'  was  an  old  saying,  and  they 
were  less  ready  than  the  government  itself  to  forget  the  fact 
that  the  obligation  of  the  peasant  to  serve  his  lord  was 
correlative  to  the  obligation  of  his  lord  to  serve  the  Tsar. 
When  Peter  III.,  in  his  brief  reign,  freed  the  nobles  from 
obligatory  service  to  the  State,  the  peasants  expected,  as  a 
natural  sequence  of  this  ukase,  the  issue  of  a  second  which 
should  free  the  peasantry  from  the  service  of  the  land.1 

It  was  in  1857  that  Alexander  II.  began  his  work  of 
liberty  by  forming  a  committee  '  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
state  of  the  peasantry.'  All  sections  of  the  literary  world 
had  arguments  to  offer  in  support  of  the  emancipation,  and 
moral  and  social  progress  were  alike  declared  impossible 
whilst  slavery  continued.  But  it  was  to  the  indefatigable 
zeal  of  the  Emperor  himself,  and  his  determination  to  con- 

1  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Rnssie. 


EMANCIPATION  OF  SERFS.  n 

quer  all  opposition  he  received,  that  the  act  of  emancipation 
was  really  due,  by  which  eventually  the  Russian  peasantry 
were  not  only  declared  free,  but  placed  in  possession  of  more 
than  half  of  all  the  arable  land  possessed  by  those  who  had 
hitherto  been  their  lords.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  out- 
siders, the  new  state  of  things,  even  from  the  first,  was  not 
hailed  with  enthusiasm  by  the  class  it  was  intended  to 
benefit.  They  cared  little  whether  they  were  called  serfs  or 
free  peasants,  unless  the  change  of  name  brought  some 
material  advantage,  and  when  they  found  that  they  had  to 
pay  government  taxes  for  land  which  they  had  practically 
treated  as  their  own  before,  it  was  necessary  to  appoint 
arbiters  for  the  difficult  task  of  conciliating  and  regulating  the 
differences  between  the  peasantry  and  the  old  proprietors, 
and  endeavouring  to  overcome  the  ignorance  of  the  former^ 
and  the  unjust  claims  of  the  latter.  The  arbiters,  though  in- 
describably patient  and  painstaking,  only  partially  succeeded. 
A  great  proportion  of  the  former  serfs  still  regret  their  serf- 
dom. Then  they  were  provided  for  in  old  age,  they  were 
looked  after  in  case  of  sickness  or  accident,  their  doctors' 
bills  were  paid  for  them,  they  had  an  hereditary  interest  in 
their  proprietor  and  his  belongings  and  he  in  them,  and, 
in  the  rare  case  where  a  lord  of  the  soil  was  unjust  or  cruel, 
they  could  always,  and  often  did — assassinate  him.1 

'  There  is  something  so  grand  in  the  very  name  of 
Liberty,'  says  the  philanthropist. 

'  But  can  it  feed  one  ?  '  answers  the  emancipated  serf. 

Almost  all  Russian  peasants  now  would  find  it  difficult 

1  For  instance,  when  a  master  treated  his  slaves  cruelly  in  a  distillery,  they  threw 
him  into  a  boiling  copper. 


12  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

to  answer  the  question  whether  they  were  better  or  worse 
off  than  formerly,  for  the  present  money-dues  and  taxes  are 
often  more  burdensome  than  the  labour-dues  in  the  time  of 
serfage.  The  obligations  of  a  serf  were  usually  more  than 
compensated  by  their  privileges — by  the  rights  of  grazing 
their  cattle  on  the  manor-land,  of  obtaining  firewood  or 
timber  for  repairing  their  cottages.  All  their  advantages 
have  now  been  swept  away  with  their  burdens.1 

Emancipated  serfs  of  the  present  time  are  apt  to  forget 
what  the  position  of  their  class  was  a  hundred  years  ago  ; 
they  forget  that  Peter  the  Great  permitted  the  serfs  to  be 
divorced  from  their  land  and  to  be  sold  separately  by  their 
masters  ;  they  forget  their  proverb,  '  The  heaven  is  high  and 
the  Tsar  is  far  off,'  with  which  they  lamented  under  their 
oppressors;  they  forget  that,  till  the  time  of  Alexander  L, 
who  put  a  stop  to  it,  their  physical  and  mental  powers  were 
abundantly  described  (before  their  public  sale)  in  the  news- 
papers, a  coachman  and  a  cow  being  often  advertised  in 
the  same  column.  Cases,  however,  of  great  personal  cruelty 
on  the  part  of  masters  were  certainly  even  then  rare  and 
severely  punished  ;  one  of  the  worst  being  that  of  a  lady  of 
the  Saltikov  family,  who  was  sentenced  by  Catherine  II.  to 
imprisonment  for  life  for  having  murdered  several  of  her 
female  serfs.  A  story  is  also  told  of  the  severe  punishment 
of  a  lady  who,  feeling  that  her  personal  charms  were  on  the 
wane,  had  made  one  of  her  serfs  her  hairdresser,  and  shut 
him  up  for  life  lest  he  should  tell  what  he  saw. 

One  of  the  greatest  outward  changes  which  have  come 

1  On  all  subjects  connected  with  Russian  institutions  the  Russia  of  D.  Mackenzie 
Wallace,  who  has  thoroughly  studied  the  subject,  and  spent  six  years  in  the  country 
for  the  purpose,  is  indisputably  the  best  authority.  Russians  themselves  constantly 
say  that  they  knew  nothing  of  their  own  institutions  till  they  read  Wallace. 


POPULAR   SUPERSTITIONS.  13 

over  Russian  *  society '  since  the  emancipation  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  change  of  language.  Formerly,  when  there  were  two 
separate  peoples — masters  and  serfs — the  former  always 
talked  French  and  the  latter  Russ  :  now  Russ  is  spoken 
everywhere.  Formerly  people  said  of  the  works  of  Gogol 
or  Lermontoff,  '  Oh,  it  is  only  Russian,'  but  now  Russian 
literature  is  preferred. 

In  its  general  aspects  no  European  country  has  changed 
with  modern  times  so  little  as  Russia.  It  will  be  found  by 
travellers  that  if  the  quotations  given  in  these  pages  from 
the  writings  of  sixteenth-century  tourists  describe  the 
appearance  and  buildings  of  Moscow  and  other  places  as 
they  are  now,  they  equally  apply  to  the  manners  and  habits 
of  the  inhabitants  now  as  they  did  then.  With  much  of 
shrewdness  and  originality  the  Russian  peasant  combines 
still  such  uncouthness  and  uncleanliness  that  a  traveller 
must  have  either  considerable  apathy  or  considerable  patience 
not  to  be  prejudiced  against  him,  before  his  more  hidden 
virtues  have  made  themselves  felt. 

Many  are  the  popular  superstitions  which  have  lingered 
on  unaltered  even  from  pagan  times,  and  which  will  be 
noticed  in  the  description  of  places  where  they  especially 
occur.  Even  a  certain  degree  of  actual  paganism  still  exists 
in  many  remote  spots,  and  in  others  the  attributes  of  pagan 
deities  and  the  honours  paid  to  them  are  only  transferred 
to  popular  saints  of  the  Greco- Russian  Church.  It  is  also 
believed  that,  when  Satan  fell  from  heaven,  some  of  his 
hosts  sought  a  refuge  under  the  earth,  the  Karliki  or  dwarfs  ; 
some  in  the  woods,  the  Lyeshie  or  sylvan  demons  ;  some 
in  the  waters,  Vodyanuie  or  water-sprites  ;  some  in  the 
air,  Vozdushnuie  or  storm- spirits  :  some  in  the  houses, 


14  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Domovnie  or  domestic  spirits; '  and  all  this  strange  mytho- 
logy has  its  part  in  the  daily  life,  with  its  hopes  and 
fears,  of  a  Russian  peasant.  The  intensity  of  superstition 
often  oppresses  and  fetters  the  most  ordinary  acts  of  life. 
In  the  Nijegorod  government  it  is  even  forbidden  to  break 
up  the  smouldering  remains  of  faggots  with  a  poker  ;  he  who 
performs  such  an  act  might  be  causing  his  nearest  deceased 
relations  to  fall  through  into  hell ! 

Towards  their  icons,  the  sacred  pictures  of  which  we 
shall  see  so  much  in  Russia,  the  feeling  of  the  peasantry 
is  unchanged  since  George  Turberville,  the  secretary  to 
Randolph,  who  went  as  ambassador  from  Elizabeth  of 
England  to  Ivan  the  Terrible,  described  the  '  Manners  of  the 
Countrey  and  People  '  in  *  Letters  in  Verse.'2 

'  Their  idoles  have  their  hearts,  on  God  they  never  call, 
Unless  it  be  (Nichola  Baugh)  that  hangs  against  the  wall. 
The  house  that  hath  no  god,  or  painted  saint  within, 
Is  not  to  be  resorted  to,  that  roofe  is  full  of  sinne. ' 

And  the  ambassadors  of  the  Duke  of  Holstein  wrote — 

'  When  a  Muscovite  enters  a  house  or  chamber  he  saies  not  a  word, 
till  he  hath  fixt  his  eyes  on  the  saint  he  looks  for,  or  if  he  finds  him  not, 
asks,yktf  le  Boch,  Where  is  the  god  ?  As  soon  as  he  perceives  him,  he 
makes  him  one  very  low  reverence,  or  more,  and  pronounces  at  every 
time,  Gospodi  Pomilui :  then  he  returns  to  the  company,  and  salutes 
them.' 

Icons — pictures  covered  with  metal  except  the  faces 
and  hands — are  of  Byzantine  origin,  and  all  the  most  ancient 
icons  are  the  work  of  Greek  artists,  who  had  Russian  pupils  : 
it  has  never  been  permissible  to  alter  the  type.  A  miraculous 

1  Ralston,  Songs  of  the  Russian  People, 

2  Hakluyfs  Voyages,  vol.  i.  p.  432. 


THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  15 

icon,  and  there  are  many  of  these,  is  usually  affirmed  to  be 
pointed  out  by  a  vision,  and  then  to  be  found  buried  in 
the  earth,  or  hanging  in  a  tree  ;  but  its  miraculous  qualities 
must  be  recognised  by  '  the  Most  Holy  Synod,'  before  it  is 
given  to  the  adoration  of  the  orthodox.  The  most  ordinary 
icons,  however,  receive  greater  veneration  than  any  of  the 
images  in  Roman  Catholic  churches.  Even  in  the  old 
romances,  when  a  warrior  is  represented  as  reaching  the 
hall  of  the  heroes,  he  fastens  up  his  horse  to  the  steel  rings 
fixed  in  the  oaken  pillars  at  the  entrance,  and,  entering  the 
presence-chamber,  bows  to  the  sacred  picture,  before  noticing 
the  princes  and  princesses  and  the  rest  of  the  assembly. 
The  multitude  of  icons,  frequently  glistening  with  gold  and 
jewels,  and  ever  surrounded  by  burning  lights,  gives  an  in- 
describable richness  to  a  Russian  church.  Thus,  to  the 
devout  Russian,  even  S.  Peter's  at  Rome  would  be  bare 
and  cold.  But  to  the  orthodox  Russian  the  Pope  is  no 
better  than  the  first  Protestant,  the  founder  of  German 
rationalism.  An  Eastern  Patriarch  '  does  not  hesitate  to 
speak  of  the  Papal  Supremacy  as  '  the  chief  heresy  of  the 
latter  days,  which  flourishes  now  as  its  predecessor  Arianism 
flourished  before  it  in  the  earlier  ages,  and  which  shall,  in 
like  manner,  be  cut  down  and  vanish  away.' 

Many  of  the  Russian  services  are  exceedingly  magnificent 
and  striking,  and  it  has  been  endeavoured,  in  the  descriptions 
of  the  different  churches,  to  give  such  explanations  as  may 
assist  a  stranger — bewildered  by  the  strange  tones  as  well  as 
the  labyrinthine  ceremonies— in  understanding  them.  Few 
travellers,  however,  will  have  patience  to  stay  through  whole 
services,  as  their  length  is  enormous. 

1  Encyclic  Epistle  of  the  Eastern  Patriarch,  1848. 


i6  !  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  "  Reveillez-moi  quand  vous  en  serez  au  bon  Dieu,"  disait  un  ambas- 
sadeur  endormi  dans  une  eglise  russe  par  la  liturgie  imperiale.' — M.  de 
Custine. 

Importance  of  outward  forms  is  much  more  insisted 
upon  by  the  Greek  than  the  Roman  Church.  This  is  seen 
in  the  strict  observance  of  feasts  and  fasts  ;  the  careful 
appropriation  of  vestments  and  ornaments  ;  above  all,  in 
the  manner  in  which  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  to  be  made, 
the  Russians  all  making  it  with  three  fingers,  except  the. 
Rashkolniks  or  dissenters,  who  use  only  two  :  a  bloody 
war  once  resulted  from  this  distinction.1  Every  outward 
form  that  symbolises  the  Trinity  is  especially  insisted 
upon.  An  archbishop  of  Novogorod  declared  that  those 
who  repeat  the  word  Allelujah  only  twice  instead  of  three 
times,  at  especial  points  in  the  liturgy,  sing  to  their  own 
damnation.2  As  to  the  essential  points  of  religion  there  is 
greater  laxity  ;  formerly  the  orthodox  were  obliged  (rather 
by  the  State  than  the  Church)  to  communicate  twice  a  year, 
but  now  this  is  not  compulsory,  except  in  accordance  with 
ecclesiastical  teaching. 

'  In  the  Greek  Church  there  are  seven  mysteries,  or  sacraments  as  they 
are  called  in  the  Latin  Church,  viz.,  baptism,  the  chrism  or  baptismal 
unction,  the  Eucharist,  confession,  ordination,  marriage,  and  the  holy 
oil  or  extreme  unction. 

4  A  mystery  is  defined  to  be  "  a  ceremony  or  act  appointed  by  God, 
in  which  God  giveth  or  signifieth  to  us  His  grace."  Baptism  and  the 
Eucharist  are  called  the  chief ;  of  the  rest,  says  Father  Plato,  some 
are  to  be  received  by  all  Christians,  as  baptismal  unction  and 
confession  ;  but  ordination,  marriage,  and  the  holy  oil,  are  not 
obligatory  upon  all. ' — King,  '  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Greek 
Church  in  Russia.'' 

1  See  Hebers  Journal.  2  Wallace,  ii.  -z. 


RUSSIAN  SUBSERVIENCE.  17 

The  characteristic  which  will  probably  strike  foreigners 
most  in  the  Russian  people  is  their  extreme  subservience 
to  authority,  in  whatever  rank  they  may  be. 

'The  Russians,  with  all  their  acuteness,  do  whatever  they  are  com- 
manded without  question.  The  soldier  never  asks  the  reason  why. 
"  Such  is  the  command  "  (Prikaz],  is  his  well-known  reply,  when  asked 
why  he  stands  there,  or  does  this  or  that,  or  leaves  it  undone.  We 
hear  of  soldiers  who,  when  a  boat  containing  a  number  of  officers  was 
upset  on  the  Neva,  were  ordered  to  save  them  with  these  words, 
"  Rescue  especially  all  the  officers  of  the  Guards."  "  Are  you  officers 
of  the  Guards  ?  "  demanded  the  men  of  the  first  persons  they  reached  ; 
the  water  already  filled  the  throats  of  the  unfortunate  men,  and  they 
were  allowed  to  sink.  Upon  another  occasion  the  parade-ground  in 
S.  Petersburg,  the  streets  being  very  dusty,  had  to  be  watered  before 
a  review.  A  sudden  shower  of  rain  fell ;  but  the  detachment  sent  to 
execute  this  operation  proceeded  with  their  work,  for  "  they  were  so 
commanded."  These  and  similar  anecdotes  are  told  ;  I  cannot  vouch 
for  their  truth,  as  the  wits  of  S.  Petersburg,  a  numerous  class,  are  fond 
of  such  stories.  Something  characteristic  of  the  Russians,  however,  is 
always  to  be  found  in  them  ;  and  although  we  in  the  West  may  laugh 
at  the  consequences  of  this  pedantry,  still  when  we  hear  that  a  soldier 
during  an  inundation  would  not  abandon  his  post,  even  when  the  water 
reached  up  to  his  neck,  and  was  drowned  where  he  stood,  we  can 
imagine  what  a  mighty  power  is  contained  in  this  Russian  spirit  of 
obedience.  I  will  only  mention  two  other  of  these  characteristic  traits, 
which  I  have  heard  upon  good  authority.  Before  the  assault  of  Warsaw 
two  grenadiers  were  standing  at  their  post ;  the  one,  a  recruit,  asked  the 
other,  an  old  soldier,  pointing  to  the  Polish  entrenchments  before  them, 
"What  think  you,  brother,  shall  we  be  able  to  take  those  works?" 
"  I  think  not,"  replied  the  old  warrior,  "  they  are  very  strong."  "  Ay, 
but  suppose  we  are  ordered  to  take  them  !  "  "  That  is  another  affair  : 
if  it  is  ordered,  we  will  take  them."  At  the  conflagration  of  the  Winter 
Palace,  a  priest  rushed  through  the  portion  of  the  building  which  was  on 
fire  to  rescue  the  pyx  :  he  succeeded  in  reaching  it,  and  hastened  back  : 
in  one  of  the  passages  he  perceived  a  soldier  through  the  smoke  :  "  Come 
away,"  he  exclaimed,  "or  you  are  lost  !"  "No,"  said  the  soldier, 
"this  is  my  post,  but  give  me  your  blessing."  He  was  immovable  : 
the  priest  gave  him  his  blessing,  and  saved  himself  with  difficulty  :  the 
soldier  was  never  seen  again.' — Haxthausen,  'The  Ritssian  Empire^ 

C 


i8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

An  anecdote,  characteristic  at  once  of  the  imperturb- 
able deference  of  a  Russian  to  his  superiors,  and  of 
the  Grand-Duke  Constantine  whom  it  concerned,  is  told 
by  M.  de  Custine.  It  occurred  at  Warsaw,  in  the  time  of 
Alexander  I. 

'  Un  jour  Constantin  passait  sa  garde  en  revue  ;  et  voulant  montrer 
a  un  etranger  de  marque  a  quel  point  la  discipline  e"tait  observee  dans 
1'armee  russe,  il  descend  de  cheval,  s'approche  cTun  de  ses  generatix,  et 
sans  le  prevenir  d'aucune  fa9on,  sans  articuler  un  reproche,  il  lui  perce 
tranquillement  le  pied  de  son  epee.  Le  general  demeure  immobile  : 
on  1'emporte  quand  le  grand-due  a  retire  son  epee.' 

Most  of  the  punishments  still  in  use  in  Russia  are  of 
Tartar  origin,  the  most  terrible  being  that  of  the  knout, 
introduced  under  Ivan  the  Terrible.  In  former  times,  cruel 
punishment  with  whips  used  to  be  ordained  in  episcopal 
circulars  as  well  as  in  Imperial  ukases.  Gogol  declares, 
however,  that  many  Russians  become  quite  indifferent  to 
floggings,  and  only  think  them  *  a  little  stronger  than  good 
brandy  and  pepper.'  Exile  to  Siberia,  which  sounds  so 
terrible  to  us,  is  also  less  appalling  to  Russians,  from  their 
having  none  of  the  home-sickness  which  affects  English  in 
exile.  But  much  naturally  depends  upon  whether  the  exile 
is  to  north  or  south  Siberia  ;  as,  in  the  latter,  there  are 
many  very  pleasant  places  of  residence,  and  its  towns  are 
said  to  be  much  more  lively  than  many  Russian  cities. 
Olearius  describes  the  Tartar  punishment  of  the  pravezh, 
which  used  to  be  inflicted  upon  debtors,  who,  till  they  made 
restitution,  were  daily  beaten  in  public  upon  the  shin-bone 
for  an  hour  together,  by  the  common  executioner  ;  only, 
sometimes,  by  a  bribe,  the  debtors  were  permitted  to  put  a 
thin  iron  plate  inside  their  boot  to  receive  the  blows.  But 


RUSSIAN  BRIBERY.  19 

'  if  the  debtor  have  not  to  satisfie,'  said  the  law,  '  he  must  be 
sold,  with  his  wife  and  children,  to  the  creditor.' 

'  They  say  the  lion's  paw  gives  judgement  of  the  beast  : 
And  so  you  may  deeme  of  the  great,  by  reading  of  the  least,' 

says  George  Turberville,  and  thus  the  bribe  offered  by 
the  debtor  to  his  executioner  is  only  a  specimen  of  what 
may  still  be  seen  in  every  class  of  society  in  Russia.  '  There 
is  only  one  honest  official  in  all  my  empire,  and  it  is  myself,' 
was  said,  probably  with  truth,  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas. 
In  a  Russian  trial  it  is  not  unusual  for  a  prisoner  to  promise 
his  advocate  10,000  roubles  if  he  is  acquitted,  5,000  if  he 
has  only  a  year's  imprisonment,  1,000  if  he  is  sent  to  Siberia  ; 
and  for  this  a  regular  contract  is  drawn  up.  *  The  cause  is 
decided,  when  the  judge  has  taken  a  present,'  has  long  been 
a  Russian  proverb.  An  example  of  the  way  in  which 
bribery  is  everywhere  rampant  may  be  seen  in  a  fact  of 
recent  occurrence.  The. theatres  are  maintained  by  the 
government,  and  the  manager  is  bound  by  an  agreement 
to  have  a  certain  number  of  actors.  Only  lately  an  official 
was  sent  to  one  of  the  principal  theatres  in  S.  Petersburg  to 
see  that  there  were  the  right  number  in  the  corps  de  ballet. 
Its  members  were  ordered  out  and  marched  round  and  round. 
The  officer  kept  his  eyes  low  and  counted  the  number  of 
legs  ;  while  the  same  actors  made  the  circuit  several  times. 
There  were  not  half  the  right  number  of  persons,  but  the 
officer  had  counted  the  right  number  of  legs,  and  he  was  too 
deeply  implicated  in  peculations  of  his  own  to  be  unpleasant. 

'  II  faut  le  dire,  les  Russes  de  toutes  les  classes  conspirent  avec  UIL 
accord  merveilleux  a  faire  triompher  chez  eux  la  duplicite.  Us  ont  une 
dexterite  dans  le  mensonge,  un  natureldanslafaussete.'— M. 

c  2 


20  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

All  the  public  offices  of  Russia  are  full  of  civilised  robbers 
who  have  not  courage  to  work  in  open  day.  How  the 
people  hate  and  despise  the  official  world  which  pillages 
them  !  '  World  of  apes  in  uniform  ;  world  of  slaves  proud 
of  their  fetters  ;  scum  of  society,  marsh  in  which  honour  is 
engulfed.'  Count  Bledow  said  that  one  ought  to  write  over 
the  doors  of  certain  public  offices  in  Russia — *  Lasciate  ogni 
conscienza,  voi  che  entrate  ! '  Bureaucracy  is  an  ulcer  which 
ceaselessly  devours  the  country, 

'  Favouritism  is  the  key-stone  of  Russian  government,  and  adoration 
of  Saints  the  pillar  of  their  faith.  The  Sovereign  is  disregarded  in  the 
obeisance  offered  to  his  parasites ;  and  the  Creator  forgotten  in  the 
worship  of  his  creatures.'—  Clarke. 

'  Dans  la  vie  russe,  tout  est  fumee  !  On  ne  voit  que  des  formes 
nouvelles  ou  des  choses  ebauchees.  Tout  le  monde  se  presse,  se  pousse, 
et  Ton  n'arrive  a  rien.  Le  vent  tourne ;  on  se  jette  du  cote  oppose. 
.  .  .  Vapeur,  fumee  !' — Tonrgueneff. 

The  'General  Inspector'  (Revizor)  of  Gogol,  which 
gives  a  terrible  picture  of  the  cringing,  cheating,  tyrannising 
officials,  appropriately  bears  on  the  title-page :  '  You  must 
not  blame  the  looking-glass,  if  your  face  is  crooked.' 

'  Savez-vous  ce  que  c'est  que  de  voyager  en  Russie  ?  Pour  un  esprit 
leger,  c'est  de  se  nourrir  d'illusions  ;  mais  pour  quiconque  a  les  yeux 
ouverts  et  joint  a  un  peu  de  puissance  d'observation  une  humeur  inde- 
pendante,  c'est  un  travail  continu,  opiniatre,  et  qui  consiste  a  discerner 
peniblement  a  tout  propos  deux  nations  luttant  dans  une  multitude. 
Ces  deux  nations,  c'est  la  Russie  telle  qu'elle  est,  et  la  Russie  telle 
qu'on  voudrait  la  montrer  a  1'Europe.'— M.  de  Ctistine. 

There  is  still  much  of  the  same  policy  which  characterised 
the  last  century,  when  one  of  her  former  favourites,  rewarded 
by  the  governorship  of  Moscow,  complained  to  Catherine  II. 
that  no  one  sent  their  children  to  school,  and  she  answered — 


RUSSIAN  THIEVES.  21 

*  Mon  cher  prince,  ne  vous  plaignez  pas  de  ce  que  les  Russes  n'ont 
pas  le  desir  de  s'instruire  ;  si  j'institue  des  ecoles,  ce  n'est  pas  pour  nous, 
c'est  pour  1' Europe,  oh  il  faut  maintenir  notre  rang  dans  f  opinion  ; 
mais  du  jour  ou  nos  paysans  voudraient  s'eclairer,  ni  vous  ni  moi  nous 
ne  resterions  a  nos  places.' 

A  quaint  instance  of  the  recognised  substitution  of 
forms  for  realities  which  still  pervades  even  small  things  in 
Russia  is  given  in  '  Clarke's  Travels,'  written  at  a  time  when 
there  was  less  ready  money  in  the  country  than  there  is  now. 

'  Dr.  Rogerson,  at  S.  Petersburg,  as  I  am  informed,  regularly 
received  his  snuff-box,  and  as  regularly  carried  it  to  a  jeweller  for  sale. 
The  jeweller  sold  it  again  to  the  first  nobleman  who  wanted  a  fee  for 
his  physician,  so  that  the  doctor  obtained  his  box  again  ;  and  at  last 
the  matter  became  so  well  understood  between  the  jeweller  and  phy- 
sician, that  it  was  considered  by  both  parties  as  a  sort  of  bank-note, 
and  no  words  were  necessary  in  transacting  the  sale  of  it. ' 

Doubtless  it  is  owing  to  the  way  in  which  habits  of  pecu- 
lation in  the  upper  classes  are  recognised  and  winked  at, 
that  the  habit  of  theft  has  such  a  hold  upon  the  lower  orders. 
There  are  no  such  thieves  as  the  Russians.  Peter  the 
Great  once  observed  that  if  in  church,  in  the  middle  of  a 
prayer,  one  of  his  subjects  found  that  he  could  rob  his 
neighbour,  he  would  certainly  do  it.  When  robbing  a 
church,  a  man  will  often  offer  several  roubles'  worth  of 
candles  to  a  neighbouring  icon,  if  it  will  only  help  him  to 
pull  out  the  jewels  of  the  one  he  is  attacking. 

'  The  French  ambassador  was  one  day  vaunting  the  dexterity  of  the 
Parisian  thieves  to  one  of  the  grand-dukes.  The  grand-duke  was  of 
opinion  that  the  S.  Petersburg  thieves  were  quite  their  equals  ;  and 
offered  to  lay  a  wager,  that  if  the  ambassador  would  dine  with  him  the 
next  day,  he  would  cause  his  excellency's  watch,  signet-ring,  or  any 
other  articles  of  his  dress  which  he  thought  most  secure,  to  be  stolen 
from  him  before  the  dessert  was  over.  The  ambassador  accepted  the 


22  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

wager,  and  the  grand-duke  sent  immediately  to  the  head  of  the  police, 
desiring  him  to  send  the  adroitest  thief  he  might  happen  to  have  in 
custody  at  the  time.  The  man  was  dressed  in  livery,  instructed  what 
to  do,  and  promised  a  pardon  if  he  accomplished  his  task  well.  The 
ambassador  had  named  his  watch  as  the  particular  object  of  attention, 
both  for  himself  and  the  thief ;  when  he  had  got  the  watch,  the  sup- 
posed servant  was  to  give  the  grand-duke  a  sign. 

The  dinner  began,  the  preliminary  whet,  the  soups  and  the  rGti 
came  and  disappeared  in  their  turns  ;  the  red,  white,  Greek,  Spanish, 
and  French  wines  sparkled  successively  in  the  glasses  of  the  guests. 
The  ambassador  kept  close  guard  on  his  watch,  and  the  grand -duke, 
observing  his  earnest  anxiety,  smiled  with  good-humoured  archness. 
The  pretended  lackey  was  busily  assisting  in  the  removal  of  the  dishes, 
the  dinner  was  nearly  over,  and  the  prince  awaited  with  impatience  the 
expected  signal.  Suddenly  his  countenance  brightened  ;  he  turned  to 
the  ambassador,  who  was  deep  in  conversation  with  his  neighbour, 
and  asked  him  what  was  the  hour.  His  excellency  triumphantly  put 
his  hand  into  his  pocket,  he  had  had  it  on  his  watch  a  few  minutes 
before,  and,  to  the  amusement  of  all,  but  particularly  of  the  grand- 
duke,  drew  out  a  very  neatly  cut  turnip  !  A  general  laugh  followed. 
The  ambassador,  somewhat  embarrassed,  would  take  a  pinch  of  snuff, 
and  felt  in  all  his  pockets  for  his  gold  snuff-box  :  it  was  gone  !  The 
laughter  became  louder ;  the  ambassador  in  his  embarrassment  and 
vexation  had  recourse  to  his  seal  ring,  to  turn  it  as  he  was  accustomed  ; 
it  was  gone  !  in  short  he  found  that  he  had  been  regularly  plundered  of 
everything  but  what  had  been  fastened  upon  him  by  the  tailor  and 
shoemaker — of  his  ring,  watch,  handkerchief,  snuff-box,  tooth-pick, 
and  gloves.  The  adroit  rogue  was  brought  before  him,  and  commanded 
by  the  grand-duke  to  give  back  the  stolen  property ;  when,  to  the 
great  surprise  of  the  prince,  the  pickpocket  took  out  two  watches,  and 
presented  one  to  the  ambassador,  and  one  to  his  imperial  highness  ; 
two  rings,  one  for  the  ambassador,  and  one  for  the  grand -duke  ;  two 
snuff-boxes,  &c.  In  astonishment,  his  highness  now  felt  in  his  pockets 
as  the  ambassador  had  done,  and  found  that  he  too  had  been  stripped 
of  his  moveables  in  a  like  manner.  The  grand-duke  solemnly  assured 
the  ambassador  that  he  had  been  quite  unconscious  of  the  theft,  and 
was  disposed  at  first  to  be  angry  with  the  too  dexterous  artist.  How- 
ever, upon  second  thoughts,  the  fellow,  who  had  enabled  him  to  win 
his  wager  so  triumphantly,  was  dismissed  with  a  present,  and  a  warning 
to  employ  his  talents  in  future  to  more  useful  purposes.' — Kohl, 
'  Travels  in  Russia.' 


RUSSIAN  INTEMPERANCE.  23 

'  From  the  first  Minister  to  the  general -officer,  from  the  lackey  to 
the  soldier,  all  the  Russians  are  thieves,  plunderers,  and  cheats.  .  .  . 
It  sometimes  happens  that  in  apartments  at  Court,  to  which  none  but 
persons  of  quality  and  superior  officers  are  admitted,  your  pocket-book 
is  carried  off  as  if  you  were  in  a  fair.  The  King  of  Sweden,  after  the 
battle  of  July  1790,  invited  a  party  of  Russian  officers,  who  had  been 
made  prisoners,  to  dine  with  him.  One  of  them  stole  a  plate  ;  upon 
which  the  offended  king  ordered  them  all  to  be  distributed  among  the 
small  towns,  where  they  never  again  ate  off  silver.' — Memoirs  of  the 
Court  of  Petersburg,  1801. 

There  is  a  proverb  which  says — 'The  Russian  peasant 
may  be  stupid,  but  he  would  only  make  one  mouthful  of 
God  Himself.'  Haxthausen  l  gives  a  curious  example  of 
the  popular  measures  which  are  taken  to  discover  a  theft, 
and  which  are  usually  more  efficacious  than  any  interference 
of  the  easily-bribed  police  would  be. 

'  In  a  house  at  which  I  called,  a  petty  robbery  had  taken  place  a 
short  time  before  :  and  I  heard  the  method  of  catching  a  thief  on  such 
occasions.  The  mistress  of  the  house  had  sent  'for  a  Babushka  (an  old 
woman  reputed  to  be  skilled  in  witchcraft)  ;  and,  as  soon  as  she  was 
come,  the  servants  were  assembled,  and  told  that  if  the  thief  confessed, 
he  would  be  let  off  with  a  slight  punishment,  otherwise  the  Babushka 
would  soon  find  out  the  culprit.  Before  she  began  her  manoeuvres  the 
thief  confessed  and  begged  for  pardon.  The  practice  of  the  Babushka 
is  that  she  takes  a  piece  of  bread  and  kneads  it  into  as  many  little  balls 
as  there  are  persons  present  :  then  she  places  a  vessel  of  water  in  front 
of  her,  and  makes  all  those  present  stand  round  it  in  a  semicircle. 
Then,  taking  one  of  the  balls,  she  looks  fixedly  at  the  first  person  and 
says,  "Ivan  Ivanovitch,  if  you  are  guilty,  your  soul  will  fall  into  hell, 
as  this  ball  falls  to  the  bottom  !  "  The  balls  of  the  innocent  are  sup- 
posed to  float,  and  those  of  the  guilty  to  sink  ;  but  no  Russian  culprit 
ever  allows  the  ball  with  his  name  to  touch  the  water.' 

That  which  does  most  to  brutalise  the  lower  orders  in 
Russia  is  their  constant  habit  of  intemperance,  though  this 

1   The  Russian  Empire. 


24  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

has  much  modified  since  the  time  of  the  ancient  Tsars,  by 
whose  example  it  was  so  much  encouraged.  Vodki  (corn 
brandy)  is  the  chief  means  of  intoxication. 

'  When  God  had  created  the  world  and  wanted  to  people  it,  He 
created  the  different  nations  and  bestowed  rich  gifts  on  them  all : 
amongst  the  rest  the  Russians,  to  whom  He  gave  vast  lands,  and  every- 
thing else  in  superfluity.  Then  He  asked  each  nation  if  it  was  satisfied. 
All  the  others  said  they  had  enough  ;  but  when  God  asked  the  Russian, 
he  took  off  his  cap,  and  simpered,  "Na  Vodki,  Lord."' — Russian 
Pbpular  Story. 

'  Twenty  years,'  said  a  patriarchal  old  Russian,  '  did  Noah  preach 
to  the  people,  but  nothing  would  induce  them  to  give  up  Vodki.  And 
when  the  Lord  sent  the  mighty  deluge,  they  climbed  up  into  the  pine- 
trees,  with  shtoffs  (quarts)  and  pol-shtoffs  (pints)  in  their  bosoms,  and 
drank  there  till  the  water  reached  them.' — H.  C.  Romanoff. 

Almost  every  village  festival  ends  in  the  intoxication  of 
most  of  those  who  take  part  in  it.  The  Russian  peasants 
are  not  altered  since  George  Turberville  described — 

'  A  people  passing  rude,  to  vices  vile  inclinde, 
Folk  fit  to  be  of  Bacchus  traine,  so  quaffing  is  their  kinde. 
Drinke  is  their  whole  desire,  the  pot  is  all  their  pride, 
The  sobrest  head  doth  once  a  day  stand  need  full  of  a  guide. 
If  he  to  banket  bid  his  friends,  he  will  not  shrinke 
On  them  at  dinner  to  bestow  a  douzen  kindes  of  drinke  : 
Such  licour  as  they  haue,  and  as  the  countrey  giues, 
But  chiefly  two,  one  called  kuas,  whereby  the  Mousike  Hues. 
Small  ware  and  waterlike,  and  but  somewhat  tart  in  taste, 
The  rest  is  mead  of  honie  made,  wherewith  their  lips  they  baste. 
And  if  he  goe  unto  his  neighbour  as  a  guest, 
He  cares  for  little  meate,  if  so  his  drinke  be  of  the  best.' 

Master  George  Turbervile  out  of  Moscouia 
to  Master  Edward  Dancie,  1568. 

Drunkenness  amongst  the  peasantry  is  much  increased 
by  the  idleness  enforced  on  the  Church-festivals,  which 
reduce  the  year  to  a  hundred  and  thirty  days  of  work.  If 
the  Church  would  only  direct  her  solicitude  to  a  peasant's 


FASTING  AND   CLEANLINESS.  25 

drinking,  and  leave  him  to  eat  what  he  pleases,  she  would 
exercise  a  material  beneficial  influence.  As  it  is,  the  Russian 
peasant  is  expected  to  fast  for  seven  weeks  of  Lent,  for 
three  weeks  in  June,  from  the  beginning  of  November  till 
Christmas,  and  on  all  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  through  the 
rest  of  the  year.  Many,  however,  are  the  subterfuges  by 
which  the  full  rigour  of  these  fasts  is  evaded, 

*  The  cunning  of  the  Moujiks,  in  eluding  the  laws  and  the  ordi- 
nances of  religion,  surpasses  the  art  of  the  devil  himself.  It  is  said, 
"  Ye  shall  eat  no  flesh  on  fast-days  ;  ye  shall  not  boil  eggs  in  water  on 
your  hearths,  nor  eat  of  any  such  eggs."  A  peasant,  not  inclined  to 
forego  the  enjoyment  of  eggs  on  a  fast-day,  knocks  a  nail  into  the  wall, 
suspends  the  egg  from  it  by  a  wire,  and,  placing  his  lamp  underneath, 
contrives  to  cook  it  in  this  manner.  He  defends  himself  to  a  priest 
who  has  caught  him  in  the  act  by  the  assurance  that  he  did  not  think 
that  any  breach  of  the  commandment.  "  Ah,  the  devil  himself  must 
have  taught  thee  that!"  cries  the  priest  in  high  displeasure.  "Well 
then,  yes,  father,  I  must  confess  it — it  was  the  devil  who  taught  me." 
"No,  that  is  not  true,"  cries  the  devil,  who,  unobserved,  is  one  of  the 
party  sitting  on  the  stove,  and  laughing  heartily  as  he  looks  at  the 
cunningly-placed  egg.  "  It  is  not  I  that  taught  him  this  trick,  for  I  see 
it  now  for  the  first  time  myself."  ' — Kriloff. 

Personal  washing,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  understood 
in  other  European  countries,  is  unknown  amongst  the  lower 
classes  in  Russia.  Almost  everyone  goes  from  time  to  time 
to  the  public  vapour  baths,  but  with  soap  and  water  in  their 
own  homes  they  are  wholly  unacquainted,  and  their  thick 
woollen  garments  are  a  terrible  receptacle  for  vermin. 
Matters  are  not  much  changed  since  Custine  wrote — 

'  Avant  de  se  nettoyer  elles-memes,  les  personnes  qui  font  usage  des 
bains  publics  devraient  songer  a  nettoyer  les  maisons  de  bains,  les 
baigneurs,  les  planches,  le  linge,  et  tout  ce  qu'on  touche,  et  tout  ce 
qu'on  voit,  et  tout  ce  qu'on  respire  dans  ces  antres  oil  les  vrais  Mosco- 
vites  vont  entretenir  leur  soi-disant  proprete,  et  hater  la  vieillesse  par 
1'abus  de  la  vapeur  et  de  la  transpiration  qu'elle  provoque.' 


26  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  bath,  necessary  to  health,  does  not  inspire  cleanli- 
ness. If  the  Russians  did  not  use  it,  they  might  see  the 
charm  of  cleanliness,  as  well  as  of  washing  hands  and  faces, 
now  never  thought  of.  A  description  of  the  peasants 
written  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  is  almost  equally 
applicable  now. 

'  Their  hair  is  universally  in  a  state  not  to  be  described  ;  and  their 
bodies  are  only  divested  of  vermin  when  they  frequent  the  bath. 
Upon  those  occasions,  their  shirts  and  pelisses  are  held  over  a  hot 
stove,  and  the  heat  occasions  the  vermin  to  fall  off.  Suwarof  used  to 
cleanse  his  shirt  in  this  manner  during  a  campaign  ;  stripping  before 
the  common  soldier,  at  the  fires  lighted  in  their  camps.  It  is  a  fact 
too  notorious  to  dispute,  that  from  the  Emperor  to  the  meanest  slave, 
throughout  the  vast  empire  of  all  the  Russias,  including  all  its  princes, 
nobles,  priests,  and  peasants,  there  exists  not  a  single  individual  in  a 
thousand  whose  body  is  not  thus  infested.' — Clarke's  '  Travels.'' 

'  The  people  beastly  bee. 

I  write  not  all  I  know,  I  touch  but  here  and  there, 
For  if  I  should,  my  penne  would  pinch,  and  eke  offend  I  feare.' 

George  Turberville. 

Nearly  everything,  however  nasty  to  our  ideas,  is  still 
accepted  as  food  by  the  lower  classes  of  Russians,  though 
no  one  is  more  observant  of  fasts.  It  is,  as  it  was  three 
hundred  years  ago — 

'  The  poore  is  very  innumerable,  and  liue  most  miserably  :  for  I 
have  scene  them  eate  the  pickle  of  Hearring  and  other  stinking  fish  : 
nor  the  fish  cannot  be  so  stinking  nor  rotten,  but  they  will  eate  it  and 
praise  it  to  be  more  wholesome  than  other  fish  or  fresh  nieate.  In 
mine  opinion  there  be  no  such  people  under  the  sunne  for  their  hard- 
nesse  of  liuing.' — Richard  Chancelour,  1553. 

Amongst  the  favourite  dishes  of  the  people  are  Borzch, 
a  soup  made  of  meat,  sausages,  beetroot,  cabbage,  and 
vinegar  ;  Varenookha,  corn-brandy  boiled  with  fruit  and 


RUSSIAN  MELANCHOLY.  27 

spice  ;  and  Kostia,  boiled  rice  and  plums  (eaten  by  all  Russian 
peasants  on  Christmas  Eve).  Cabbage  in  every  form  is 
adored  by  the  people.  .  Gherkins  (Agourtzi)  are  very  popular, 
and  the  peasants  will  eat  them  with  their  tea.  Everything 
pungent  or  acid  is  liked  ;  indeed  the  scorbutic  effects  of 
other  greasy  food  are  probably  counteracted  by  the  quantities 
of  sour  quass  and  pickled  cucumbers  or  cabbage  and  raw 
apples  which  are  taken. 

Finally,  the  Russian  character — owing  to  long  years  of 
oppression — will  be  found  to  be  essentially  silent  and  sad. 
In  the  south  especially,  their  endless  songs,  which  serve  them 
at  once  as  speech  and  as  history,  are  all  melancholy.  At 
their  festas  the  people  drink  much  and  talk  little.  At  their 
fairs,  an  unexciting  see-saw  is  the  favourite  amusement  (and 
there  are  few  country  houses  of  the  upper  classes  which  are 
without  it).  Formerly  the  peasants  used  to  dance  the 
Barina  (like  the  Tarantella)  accompanied  by  the  Balalaika, 
but  now  this  is  seldom  seen. 


28  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


"Si 


T 


CHAPTER   II. 
V          S.    PETERSBURG. 

r\ 

TRAVELLERS  may  rest  both  mind  and  eyes  all  the 
way  from  Calais  to  S.  Petersburg,  there  is  so  little 
to  see  ;  only  as,  across  the  frightful  sandy  flats,  they  draw 
near  Dantzic,  they  may  observe  storks  strutting  jauntily 
^through  the  fields  after  the  farm  labourers.  Dantzic  is  the 
^-finest  of  the  remarkable  group  of  Prussian  towns  which  lie 
far  away  from  all  else,  and  almost  upon  the  confines  of 
Russia,  and  it  is  well  worth  while  to  make  the  detour  of  a 
few  miles  which  alone  is  necessary  to  visit  it.  Its  wonderful 
old  houses,  divided  and  redivided  by  the  twisting  Motlau, 
cluster  round  an  oblong  square,  at  the  end  of  which  stands 
the  Rathhaus  with  its  splendid  red  tower,  and,  hard  by,  the 
gothic  Artus  Halle,  filled  with  old  sculpture,  pictures, 
models  of  ships,  and  stags'  heads  in  stone,  jumbled  together 
like  a  nightmare.  In  many  of  the  surrounding  streets, 
especially  in  the  Frauen  Gasse,  all  the  houses  have  tiny 
forecourts,  often  raised  high  aloft,  with  stone  parapets  worthy 
of  Venice  in  the  richness  of  their  intricate  sculpture,  or 
adorned  with  reliefs  of  some  quaint  German  legend,  and 
approached  by  broad  stone  stairs,  ending,  at  the  street,  in 
huge  stone  balls  or  pillars.  Here,  an  artist  might  find  a 


MARIENBURG  AND  KONIGSBERG.  29 

thousand  subjects  amongst  the  groups  of  children  at  play 
upon  the  little  platforms,  where  the  tender  green  of  vine 
and  Virginian  creeper  plays  amid  the  brown  shadows  of  the 
architecture. 

An  hour's  railway  takes  us  from  Dantzic  to  Marienburg, 
a  quiet  town  of  the  middle  ages,  with  a  primitive  little  inn, 
Konig  von  Preussen,  in  its  suburbs,  rather  too  near  the  pig- 
market,  perhaps,  but  charming  in  its  outside  balconies  and 
exquisitely  clean  little  rooms.  Opposite,  on  a  slight  hill, 
girt  by  gigantic  moats,  rises  the  immense  brick  palace  of 
the  Teutonic  Knights,  once  absolute  sovereigns  of  this  bit  of 
Germany.  A  figure  of  the  Virgin,  thirty- eight  feet  high,  is  a 
conspicuous  feature  on  the  outside  of  one  of  the  towers.  The 
gothic  rooms  in  which  the  Grand  Master  held  his  stately 
court  are  still  perfect,  but  have  been  '  restored '  into  all  the 
ugliness  that  glazed  pavements,  bad  gaudy  frescoes,  and 
worse  and  gaudier  glass  can  give  them.  The  church  is 
grand  in  proportions  as  any  cathedral,  but  here  also  the 
decaying  loveliness  of  the  beautiful  old  colour  is  being 
renovated  away,  and  there  will  soon  be  nothing  left  worth 
seeing.  From  the  other  side  of  the  broad  Vistula,  which 
flows  sleepily  at  the  foot  of  the  castle-hill,  there  is  a  mag- 
nificent view  of  the  building,  the  most  prominent  feature 
being  the  huge  Buttermilk  tower,  which  the  knights  com- 
pelled the  peasants  to  build,  slaking  their  mortar  with 
buttermilk. 

Two  hours  more  bring  the  train  to  Konigsberg,  the 
ancient  Prussian  capital  and  coronation-city,  chiefly  modern 
in  its  buildings  and  very  handsome,  but  with  a  noble  Schlossr 
which  stands  well  on  the  edge  of  a  steep,  and  has  all 
the  charm  of  having  been  built  in  many  ages— mediaeval 


3d  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

fortress,  Italian  palace,  Prussian  country-house.  It  con- 
tains the  Schloss  Kirche,  like  a  gilded  hall.  Below,  on 
the  island  in  the  Pregel,  is  the  gothic  cathedral,  with  a 
twisted  columnar  staircase,  and  several  interesting  tombs. 
All  the  old  preachers  have  left  their  full-length  portraits  to 
the  church,  in  which,  with  the  costumes  and  charac- 
teristics of  many  ages,  they  look"  down  upon  the  scene  of 
their  former  labours,  giving  much  colour  and  dignity  to  the 
walls. 

The  express  train  to  S.  Petersburg  leaves  Konigsberg  at 
midday,  and  at  about  6  P.M.  reaches  the  frontier  station  of 
Wierzbolow.  Here  we  recognise  a  new  country  at  once. 
The  porters  and  custom-house  officials  all  have  long  white 
aprons  and  the  brilliant  scarlet  shirts  with  which  travellers 
afterwards  become  so  familiar,  worn  under  their  black  waist- 
coats, but  outside  their  trousers,  which  are  tucked  into  huge 
jack-boots.  The  prevalence  of  red  colouring  is  very 
picturesque,  and  it  is  intensely  admired  by  the  natives 
— in  fact  there  is  only  one  word  in  Russian  for  '  red '  and 
'beautiful.' 

For  ourselves,  we  found  the  custom-house  a  mere  form, 
the  officials  most  civil,  and  our  passports,  which  we  gave  up 
on  arriving,  were  brought  back  to  us  in  the  train  ;  but  we 
saw  unfortunate  Russian  ladies  who  were  suspected  of 
smuggling,  having  to  submit  to  seeing  the  whole  contents  of 
their  boxes  turned  out  in  an  indiscriminate  heap  on  the 
dirty  floor,  and  being  left  to  sort  and  repack  them  as  best 
they  could,  or,  if  they  could  not  do  it  in  the  time,  to  wait 
piteously  through  the  night  for  another  train.  Still,  a  bribe 
will  do  wonders  :  the  higher  the  bribe,  the  slighter  the 
search,  and  a  five-rouble  note,  slid  into  the  hand  of  an 


THE  RUSSIAN  LANGUAGE.  31 

official  oh  giving  up  a  passport,  has  such  an  effect  upon  the 
eyesight  that  a  thousand-roubles-worth  of  forbidden  goods 
often  easily  passes  unobserved.1  Here,  on  the  very  threshold 
of  Russia,  we  found,  as  ever  afterwards,  that,  though  the 
upper  classes  of  Russians  may  boast  that  the  '  language  of 
Europe '  is  more  familiar  to  them  than  their  native  tongue, 
French  is  perfectly  useless  for  all  practical  travelling  pur- 
poses ;  sometimes  a  word  or  two  of  German  may  be  under- 
stood, but  generally  nothing  but  Russian. 

To  learn  the  most  necessary  Russian  words,  therefore 
we  devoted  ourselves  during  the  immense  railway  journeys  : 
but  the  terrible  alphabet  was  long  a  stumblingblock — the 
new  hieroglyphics  seemed  possible,  but  to  see  familiar 
European  forms  meaning  other  letters  was  a  puzzle  indeed. 
The  very  abundance  of  its  alphabet  gives  the  language  such 
an  indescribable  richness  that  the  Russian  word  for  a 
foreigner,  especially  a  German,  is  'the  dumb,'  'the  speech- 
less.'2 

'  In  days  of  doubt,  in  days  of  agonising  reflections  on  the  fate  of 
my  home,  thou  alone  art  my  stay  and  my  staff :  oh,  great,  mighty,  true, 
and  free  Russian  tongue  !  If  thou  wert  not,  would  it  be  possible  not 
to  despair  at  this  moment,  and  see  all  that  is  happening  at  home  ?  But 
it  cannot  be  possible  that  such  a  language  would  be  given  to  any  but 
a  great  people. ' — Ivan  Totirgueneff,  '  Senilia. ' 

Strugglers  with  the  language  will  be  amused  to  recollect 
that  Sir  Jerome  Horsey  records  of  our  English  Queen  Eliza- 

1  The  traveller  will  do  well  early  to  make  himself  familiar  with  the  value  of 
Russian  coins— copecks  and  roubles.  The  latter  derive  their  name  from  the  Russian 
word  'roublion,'  '1  cut,'  being  cut  from  the  silver  bars  which  formed  \h&  grievinka. 
in  the  old  coinage. 

-  Considering  the  vastness  of  the  country,  there  is  wonderfully  little  variety  of 
dialect  in  Russia.  The  Moscovites  say  '  ento '  for  '  etto '  (that),  and  have  a  few 
trifling  peculiarities,  but  there  is  never  anywhere  an  important  difference  in  the 
language. 


32  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

beth  that  she  said,  *  as  for  Russian  she  could  quicklie  lern 
it — this  famoust  and  most  copius  language  in  the  woride/ 

The  Slaves,  Bohemians,  Illyrians,  and  Russians  had  no 
alphabet  before  865.  At  that  time  the  brothers  S.  Cyril 
and  S.  Methodius  of  Thessalonica  were  sent  by  Michael 
Emperor  of  the  East  to  the  Christian  princes  of  Moravia, 
that  they  might  translate  the  sacred  books  from  Greek  into 
the  language  of  the  country.  For  this  purpose  they  invented 
a  special  alphabet,  founded  upon  the  Greek,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  many  new  letters,  and  this  alphabet  (the  Cyrillian), 
with  some  variations,  is  the  one  still  in  use.1 

It  is  long  before  there  is  any  change  from  the  German 
landscapes  we  have  been  accustomed  to  ;  then  forests  of  firs 
thicken  along  the  wayside,  or  woods  of  birches,  which  have 
sprung  up  unseen,  by  the  strange  invariable  and  inexplicable 
habit  which  they  have,  wherever  the  fir-trees  have  been  cut 
down  :  as  Madame  de  Stael  says,  *  Le  triste  bouleau  revient 
sans  cesse  dans  cette  nature  peu  inventive.'2  Night  closed 
in  upon  a  weird  scene  of  jagged  pines  rising  from  a  desolate 
heath  against  a  lurid  crimson  sky,  and  left  us  wondering  in 
which  of  these  vast  woods  there  were  bears,  and  in  which 
we  should  hear  the  baying  of  wolves,  if  we  were  travelling 
here  through  a  winter's  night. 

Low  fir-woods  and  open  cornfields  at  dawn,  low  fir- 
woods  and  open  cornfields  always,  thirty  hours  of  them,  and 
constant  stoppages  of  eight  minutes  at  bright-looking  stations, 
with  shrubberies  of  lilacs  and  senna,  where  stakan  tchai — 
tumblers  of  weak  tea  without  milk,  burning  hot,  are  offered 
on  a  tray  through  the  carriage-windows.  This  refreshment 
is  universal,  and  soon  comes  to  be  a  matter  of  course.  The 

1  Karamsin,  i.  2  Dix  A  nnees  (fExil. 


RAILWAY   TRAVELLING.  33 

tea  is  made  in  a  samovar,  and  poured  off  instantly,  for  tea 
which  has  been  standing  many  minutes  is  regarded  as  almost 
poisonous  in  Russia.  You  can  seldom  procure  milk,  but 
have  generally  the  option  of  thin  slices  of  lemon  in  your 
tea,  and,  though  always  weak,  the  tea  is  excellent,  with  the 
aromatic  flavour  which  tea  retains  when  it  has  travelled 
overland,  but  which  the  leaves  sold  in  England  lose  in 
coming  by  sea. 

The  sleeping-cars  are  most  luxurious.  A  narrow 
passage,  with  a  long  row  of  windows  on  one  side,  on  the 
other  gives  entrance  to  a  series  of  little  rooms,  with  broad 
sofas  on  either  side.  At  night,  a  contrivance  turns  these 
sofas  round,  and  the  most  inviting  little  beds  with  spring 
mattresses  take  their  place.  In  crowded  trains,  a  second 
tier  of  beds  can  be  created  over  the  first,  like  berths  in  a 
ship ;  but  these  are  seldom  in  use.  There  is  no  jolt  or  jar, 
but  the  immense  length  of  the  carriages  makes  them  waggle 
with  a  movement  like  a  caterpillar's,  and,  after  many  hours, 
often  produces  something  very  like — sea-sickness  ! 

Even  the  express  trains  move  very  slowly,  and  what 
seems  to  foreigners  an  endless  time  is  spent  in  dawdling  at 
the  pretty  country  stations  with  their  brilliant  little  gardens 
of  common  flowers,  well  kept  by  the  gardeners  who  travel 
constantly  up  and  down  the  lines  to  look  after  them.  On 
most  of  the  railways  no  train  leaves  a  station  till  a  telegraphic 
message  arrives  from  the  next  that  the  line  is  clear,  so  great  is 
the  fear  of  accidents,  which  consequently  scarcely  ever  occur 
in  Russia.  Perpetually  do  impatient  travellers  hear  the 
answer — 'Sei  tshas!  sei  tshas!  sei  minut!'  ('Directly,  directly, 
this  minute'),  and  a  hundred  times  a  day  are  they  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  the  Russian  proverb  which  says — 

D 


34  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  Sei  tshas  '  means  to-morrow  morning,  and  '  sei  minut '  this 
day  week. 

We  pass  Wilna,  the  chief  town  of  Lithuania,  where 
Napoleon  abandoned  his  unhappy  army  ;  and  Dtinaborg  in 
White  Russia,  whence  there  is  a  branch  line  to  Riga,  the 
capital  of  Livonia,  continued  to  Mitau,  where  Louis  XVIII. 
resided  in  exile,  and  where  the  mummified  body  of  Duke  John 
Ernest  Biren,  lover  of  the  Empress  Anne,  is  still  to  be  seen 
attired  in  velvet  and  ruffles.  We  see  the  bulb-like  cupolas 
of  Pskof,  which,  in  its  early  history  was  the  younger  brother 
of  Novogorod  the  Great,  and  had  the  same  kind  of  vetch'e, 
prince,  and  division  into  '  quarters/ '  It  was  also  the  native 
place  of  S.  Olga,  the  first  Christian  Grand-Princess,  born  a 
peasant-maiden  of  Pskof.  We  long  to  visit  its  kremlin, 
churches,  and  catacombs,  which  the  mad  hermit  Salco 
protected  from  Ivan  the  Terrible,2  but  dread  the  horrors  of 
its  inns  ;  we  look  out  for  Gatschina,  with  the  mosque- like 
palace,  standing  in  solitary  dismalness,  where  the  unfortunate 
Emperor  Alexander  III.  has  worn  out  many  days  of  life  in 
the  constant  expectation  of  murder  :  and  then  we  watch 
for  the  joyful  moment  of  excitement  when  two  vast  domes 
appear  beyond  the  hitherto  featureless  waste,  one  purple, 

1  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la.  Riissie,  p.  117. 

2  In  1570  Ivan  came  to  massacre  the  inhabitants  of  Pskof,  as  he  had  already  done 
those  of  Novogorod.     Salco,  or  Nicholas  of  Pskof,  a  naked  hermit,  then  lived   in  a 
hut  by  the  gate.     Ivan,  who  was  terribly  afraid  of  hermits,  saluted  him  and  sent  him 
a  present.     The  hermit  in  return  sent  the  Tsar  a  piece  of  raw  meat.     It  was  in  Lent, 
and  Ivan  recoiled  before  such  a  breach  of  the  laws  of  the  Church.    '  Evasko,  Evasko  ' 
(Jack,  Jack),  said  the  presumptuous  hermit,  '  dost  thou  think  that  it  is  unlawful  to 
eat  a  piece  of  beast's  flesh  in  Lent,  and  not  unlawful  to  devour  as  much  man's  flesh 
as  thou  hast  already  ? '     And  he  pointed  to  a  dark  cloud  in  the  heavens,  and  declared 
that  it  would  destroy  the  Tsar  and  his  army  if  they  touched  so  much  as  a  hair  in  the 
head  of  the  smallest  child  in  that  city  which  God  held  in  His  keeping.    Ivan  persisted 
so  far  as  to  attempt  to  carry  off  the  great  bell  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  but  then  his  horse 
fell,  and  he  trembled  before  the  words  of  Nicholas,  withdrew  his  army,  and  Pskof 
was  saved. 


ARRIVAL  AT  S.  PETERSBURG.  35 

the  other  with  a  brilliant  gleam  of  gold  upon  its  surface— 
S.  Alexander  Nevskoi  and  the  S.  Isaac's  Cathedral  of  S. 
Petersburg. 

Can  we  still  be  in  Europe  ?  we  wonder,  as  we  emerge 
from  the  station  into  the  first  of  those  vast,  arid,  dusty,  mean- 
ingless squares  with  which  we  afterwards  become  so  familiar, 
and  see  the  multitude  of  droskies — the  smallest  carriages  in 
the  world,  mere  sledges  on  wheels,  with  drivers  like  old 
women  in  low-crowned  hats  and  long  blue  dressing-gowns 
buttoned  from  their  throats  to  their  feet.  All  have  the  same 
mild,  sleepy,  benignant  expression,  and  the  gowns  of  all, 
even  in  this  burning  summer  weather,  are  wadded  till  they 
are  like  feather  beds,  so  that  all  proportions  of  the  figure  are 
lost,  only  a  girdle  indicating  where  the  waist  should  be.  It 
is  useless  to  pull  at  your  driver  or  even  to  thump  him  as 
hard  as  you  can  to  make  him  turn  round  and  attend  to  you, 
for  your  hand  will  only  sink  deep  into  his  woolly  protection. 
You  would  have  small  chance,  however,  of  conversation 
under  any  circumstances,  for  '  Hold  on  in  God's  name,  little 
father  ! '  your  coachman  exclaims,  as  soon  as  you  have 
made  your  bargain,  and  away  you  go  with  a  leap  and  a  rush, 
rattling,  banging  over  the  stones,  swinging  from  side  to  side, 
pulling  up  with  a  jolt  which  almost  hurls  your  bones  out  of 
your  skin,  and  then,  without  an  instant's  reprieve,  dashing 
on  more  wildly  than  ever.  Marvellously  adroit  are  the 
drivers.  No  whip  is  necessary,  the  voice  takes  its  place. 
A  sort  of  groan  makes  the  foot-passengers  give  way  ;  the 
pace  of  the  droski  never  relaxes.  To  make  the  horses  go 
faster  the  reins  are  tightened ;  to  stop  them  they  are  slackened. 
It  is  said  to  be  a  local  statistic  that  one  foot-passenger  is 
killed  daily  in  the  city  by  the  droskies.  Yet  any  driver 


36  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

knocking  down  a  foot-passenger  is  liable  to  be  flogged  and 
fined. 

How  wide  the  streets  are,  how  shabby,  and  (in  summer) 
how  empty,  only  a  foot-passenger  or  two  being  visible  in  the 
whole  of  the  far- stretching  distance  !  How  the  wind  rushes 
unstemmed  through  the  vast  spaces  !  All  the  streets  are 
broad.  They  are  classed  as  prospekts,  oulitzi,  and  perouloks 
or  cross  streets,  but  even  the  perouloks  would  be  broad 


CATHEDRAL   OF   S.    ISAAC. 


streets  in  most  of  the  older  European  towns.  How  mean 
and  pitiful  are  the  shops,  with  their  names  inscribed  in  the 
bewildering  Greek  characters  which  testify  to  the  Greek 
origin  of  Russian  literature  and  religion,  and  with  their  walls 
covered  all  over  with  pictures  of  their  contents,  coats,  gowns, 
boots,  portmanteaux,  &c. — pictures  apparently  far  more  im- 
portant than  the  objects  they  represent.  Then  comes  a 
square  more  hugely  disproportioned  than  the  streets,  the 
palaces  which  surround  it  built  of  bad  brick  covered  with 


BUILDING   OF  S.   PETERSBURG.  37 

worse  stucco,  and,  however  immense,  seeming  paltry  and 
puerile  in  the  vast  space,  girt  on  one  side  by  the  Isaac 
Church,  which,  though  only  a  poor  imitation  of  S.  Paul's  in 
London,  has  at  least  the  advantage  of  stateliness  of  propor- 
tions, when  seen  against  a  sunset  sky. 

The  poet  Miskewickz  says,  '  Human  hands  built  Rome  : 
divine  hands  created  Venice  :  but  he  who  sees  S.  Peters- 
burg may  say — "  This  town  is  the  work  of  the  devil."  ' 
Here,  in  the  most  eastern  capital  in  the  world,  there  are  days 
without  night,  but  there  are  also  days  almost  without  day, 
having  only  five  hours  and  forty-seven  minutes  of  light.  A 
number  of  marshy  islands,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Neva,1 
were  chiefly  inhabited  by  wolves  and  bears  till  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century,  though  a  few  fishermen's  huts  rose  here 
and  there  amid  the  thickets,  on  the  drier  parts  of  the  morass. 
Ivan  the  Terrible  had  some  idea  of  founding  a  town  here, 
but  it  was  left  for  Peter  the  Great  to  begin  the  work  in  1703, 
founding  S.  Petersburg,  as  Algarotti  says,  '  for  a  window  by 
which  the  Russians  might  look  out  into  civilised  Europe.' 
Till  the  time  of  Peter,  who  is  often  said  to  '  have  knouted 
Russia  into  civilisation,'  the  country  had  been  more  Asiatic 
than  European.  It  was  Peter  (the  first  Tsar  of  Russia  who 
had  seen  the  sea)  who  realised  that  the  future  commerce 
of  the  country  must  depend  on  the  creation  of  a  naval  force 
with  which  to  occupy  the  Baltic.  The  site  of  the  fortress 
which  he  built  with  this  intention  was  selected  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  frontier  of  Sweden,  because  at  that  time  the 
Swedes  were  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  Russia.  It 
was  also  chosen  with  a  view  of  withdrawing  the  Russian 

1  The  Petersburg  Island  was  formerly  called  Beresovionstrof :  the  Vassili  Ostrof 
(when  Ingria  was  Swedish)  was  known  as  Givisaari :  the  Apothecary's  Island  was 
Korposaari :  the  Kammeni  Ostrof  was  Kitzisaari.  See  Tooke's.£z)£  of  Catherine  II. 


38  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

nobles  from  their  magnificent  somnolence  at  Moscow,  and 
of  gradually  civilising  them  by  rubbing  them  against  those 
of  more  polished  manners  and  tastes. 

Peter — or  Piter,  as  he  wrote  himself — gave  the  name  of  his 
patron  saint  to  his  new  city,  which  is  therefore  rightly  called 
S.  Petersburg,  not  simply  Petersburg.1  It  was  the  apple  of 
his  eye,  his  *  Paradise,'  as  he  calls  it  in  one  of  his  letters. 
He  regarded  neither  the  danger  of  floods  by  which  parts  of 
the  city  are  still  constantly  inundated,  nor  the  unhealthiness 
by  which  the  death-rate  is  still  much  higher  at  S.  Petersburg 
than  in  any  other  city  of  Europe.  When  Catherine  II. 
complained  of  the  ill  effects  of  the  climate  upon  her  health, 
one  of  her  courtiers  justly  replied — '  It  is  not  the  fault  of 
God,  Madam,  if  men  insist  upon  building  the  capital  of  a 
great  empire  upon  land  destined  by  nature  for  the  abode  of 
bears  and  wolves.' 

It  was  on  the  most  inland  of  the  islands  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Neva,  called  by  the  Finns  Yanni-Saari,  or  Hare  Island, 
that  Peter  laid  his  foundations.  He  superintended  the 
building  of  one  of  the  bastions  of  his  fortress  himself,  and 
gave  the  others  in  charge  to  his  chief  officers.  At  first  the 
fortifications  were  only  built  of  wood,  but  three  years  after- 
wards they  were  re-erected  in  stone  by  masons  from  Novo- 
gorod  who  were  assisted  by  the  soldiers.  The  first  fortress 
was  begun  on  the  i6th  of  May,  1703,  and  finished  in  five 
months.  Wheelbarrows  were  unknown,  and  the  workmen 
scraped  up  the  earth  with  their  hands,  and  carried  it  to  the 
ramparts  in  their  shirts  or  in  bags  made  of  matting.  Two 
thousand  thieves  and  other  criminals  sentenced  to  Siberia 

1  The  common  people,  however,  often  simply  call  the  town  '  Piter,' after  Peter  the 
Great,  and  the  poet  Koltsov  and  others  write  of  it  thus. 


BUILDING   OF  S.  PETERSBURG.  39 

were  ordered  to  serve  under  the  Novogorod  workmen- 
Within  the  fortress  a  little  church  was  ere'cted  and  dedicated 
to  S.  Peter  and  S.  Paul  ;  it  was  covered  with  yellow  stucco 
inside  and  bore  a  chime  of  bells.  The  first  brick  house  was 
built  by  Count  Golovkin  in  1710,  and  the  following  year 
Peter  constructed  a  little  brick  cottage  for  himself,  which  he 
called  his  palace,  just  outside  the  fortress.  In  nine  years 
from  the  foundation  of  the  city,  the  seat  of  government  was 
moved  from  Moscow  to  S.  Petersburg,  and  in  1710  the 
Tsar  enforced  that  all  the  nobility  and  principal  merchants 
should  have  houses  there,  while  every  large  vessel  on  the 
Neva  was  forced  to  bring  thirty  stones,  every  small  one  ten, 
and  every  peasant's  cart  three,  towards  the  building  of  the  new 
city.  Breaking  through  even  the  tradition  which  required 
that  princes  should  be  buried  at  S.  Michael  of  the  Kremlin 
of  Moscow,  Peter  marked  out  his  own  tomb  and  those  of  his 
successors  in  his  new  cathedral.  '  Before  the  new  capital,' 
says  Pouchkine,  '  Moscow  bent  her  head,  as  an  imperial 
widow  bows  before  a  young  Tsaritsa.' 

'  Saint-Petersbourg  avec  sa  magnificence  et  son  immensite  est  un 
trophee  eleve  par  les  Russes  a  leur  puissance  a  venir.  Depuis  le  temple 
des  Juifs,  jamais  la  foi  d'un  peuple  en  ses  destinees  n'a  rien  arrache 
a  la  terre  cle  plus  merveilleux  que  Saint-Petersbourg.  Et  ce  qui  rend 
vraiment  admifable  ce  legs  fait  par  un  homme  a  son  ambitieux  pays, 
c'est  qu'il  a  etc  accepte  par  1'histoire.' — M.  de  Custine. 

The  mushroom  growth  of  the  city  caused  the  buildings 
of  Peter  the  Great's  time  to  be  of  the  most  ephemeral 
character,  so  that  scarcely  anything  we  now  see  dates  further 
back  than  Catherine  II.,  and,  though  the  size  of  the  town 
has  now  surpassed  the  utmost  hopes  of  its  founder,  and  has 
spread  from  the  island  of  Vassili  Ostrof,  which  he  destined  as 


40  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

its  centre,  for  many  miles  south  and  eastwards,  it  is  still 
'  only  an  immense  outline  which  it  will  require  future 
empresses  and  almost  future  ages  to  complete.' ' 

At  first  even  the  wild  animals  which  had  previously  in- 
habited the  locality  were  not  all  driven  away,  so  that  in  17 14 
two  soldiers  on  guard  in  front  of  the  foundry  were  devoured 
by  wolves,  and,  a  little  time  after,  a  woman  was  torn  to 
pieces  at  midday  in  front  of  Prince  MentchikofT's  house. 

The  best  hotels  in  S.  Petersburg,  though  sufficiently 
comfortable,  would  be  considered  very  second-rate  in  any 
other  capital,  and  the  food  they  supply  is  very  indifferent. 
The  rooms  are  clean,  and  are  all  fitted  with  double  windows, 
which  are  here  an  absolute  necessity.  They  are  hermetically 
sealed  in  winter,  only  a  single  pane  of  the  inner  window, 
called  a  '  Was  ist  das  ? '  being  made  to  open.  Yet  the  window- 
frames  require  constant  renewal,  as  the  great  cold  (which 
shakes  even  the  granite  stones  of  the  quays  from  their  places) 
constantly  shrinks  them,  and  alters  their  forms. 

We  were  at  the  Hotel  de  France  in  the  Grand  Moskoi,  a 
broad  street  ending,  close  to  the  hotel,  in  a  huge  archway, 
of  an  aimless  architectural  character  thoroughly  characteristic 
of  S.  Petersburg. 

'  Je  ne  crois  qu'on  puisse  voir  ailleurs  rien  d'aussi  mauvais  gout  que 
cette  colossale  porte-cochere  ouverte  sous  une  maison,  et  toute  flanquee 
d'habitations  dont  le  voisinage  bourgeois  ne  1'empeche  pas  d'etre 
traitee  d'arc  de  triomphe,  grace  aux  pretentious  monumentales  des 
architectes  russes.' — M.  de  Custine. 

Passing  under  the  archway,  we  emerged  at  once  into  a 
vast  open  space,  the  centre  of  which  is  occupied  by  the 
granite  Alexander  Column,  said  to  be  the  greatest  monolith 

1  Coxe. 


THE    WINTER  PALACE.  41 

of  modern  times,  but  already  scarred  and  cracked  by  the 
frosts.  It  is  the  work  of  a  Frenchman,  M.  de  Monferrand, 
and  rests  on  a  pedestal  which  is  inscribed  simply  'To 
Alexander  I.  Grateful  Russia.'  The  monolith  is  eighty  feet 
high,  but  the  monument,  including  the  angel  and  pedestal, 
is  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  To  the  left  are  the  Isaac 
Cathedral  and  the  graceful  tower  and  spire  of  the  Admiralty. 


THE    ALEXANDER    COLUMN. 


Opposite  us  was  the  huge  Winter  Palace,  which,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Vatican  and  Versailles,  is  the  largest  palace 
in  the  world  intended  for  a  residence,  and,  though  tasteless 
and  rococo,  has  a  certain  grandeur  from  its  immensity. 

'  Quoique  les  plus  grands  monuments  de  cette  ville  se  perdent  dans 
un  espace  qui  est  plutot  une  plaine  qu'une  place,  le  palais  est  imposant ; 
le  style  de  cette  architecture  du  temps  de  la  regence  a  de  la  noblesse, 
et  la  couleur  rouge  du  gres,  dont  Pedifice  est  bati,  plait  a  1'ceil.  La 
colonne  d'Alexandre,  1'Etat-Major,  1'Arc  de  Triomphe  au  fond  de  son 


42  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

demi-cercle  d'edifices,  les  chevaux,  les  chars,  PAmiraute  avec  ses 
elegantes  colonnettes  et  son  aiguille  doree,  Pierre  le  Grand  sur  son 
rocher,  les  ministeres  qui  sont  autant  de  palais,  enfin  1'etonnante 
eglise  de  Saint-Isaac  en  face  d'un  des  trois  ponts  jetes  sur  la  Neva  : 
tout  cela  perdu  dans  1'enceinte  d'une  seule  place  n'est  pas  beau,  mais 
c'est  etonnamment  grand.'— AT.  de  Cttstine. 

Like  all  the  Russian  palaces,  the  Winter  Palace  is  a 
mixture  of  splendour  and  shabbiness,  luxury  and  discomfort. 
In  going  over  it,  visitors  see  everything  gorgeously  adapted 
for  state  ceremonials,  but  wonder  how  and  where  the 
imperial  family  can  live.  The  whole  of  the  splendid  interior 
was  consumed  by  fire  in  1837,  but  speedily  restored.  It  is 
said  that  not  less  than  six  thousand  persons  have  frequently 
had  a  habitation  in  the  Winter  Palace.  As  in  the  Vatican 
at  Rome,  and  as  in  the  forests  of  the  great  landowners,  many 
colonies  are  formed  for  years  together  of  which  the  owner 
takes  no  notice  ;  so,  before  the  fire,  there  nestled  many  a  one 
in  this  palace  not  included  amongst  the  regular  inhabitants. 
The  watchers  on  the  roof — placed  there  for  different  purposes, 
among  others  to  keep  the  water  in  the  tanks  from  freezing 
during  the  winter  by  casting  in  red-hot  balls — built  themselves 
huts  between  the  chimneys,  took  their  wives  and  children 
there,  and  even  kept  poultry  and  goats,  who  fed  on  the 
grass  of  the  roof;  it  is  said  that  at  last  some  cows  were 
introduced,  but  this  abuse  had  been  corrected  before  the 
fire  occurred.1 

This  palace,  from  whose  gate  Catherine  II.  emerged  on 
horseback,  crowned  with  an  oak  wreath  and  with  a  drawn 
sword  in  her  hand,  to  put  herself  at  the  head  of  her  army, 
is  full  of  associations  with  the  modern  history  of  the 
country. 

1  See  Kohl. 


THE    WINTER  PALACE.  43 

'  Quelle  est  la  noble  famille  cle  Russie  qui  n'ait  aussi  quelque 
glorieux  souvenir  a  revendiquer  dans  ses  murs  ?  Nos  peres,  nos 
ancetres,  toutes  nos  illustrations  politiques,  administratives,  guerrieres, 
y  re$urent  des  mains  du  souverain,  et  au  nom  de  la  patrie,  les  temoi- 
gnages  eclatants  dus  a  leurs  travaux,  a  leurs  services,  a  leur  valeur. 
C'est  ici  que  Lomonossoff,  que  Derjavine  firent  resonner  leur  lyre 
nationale,  que  Karamsin  lut  les  pages  de  son  histoire  devant  un 
auditoire  auguste.  Ce  palais  etait  le  palladium  des  souvenirs  de  toutes 
nos  gloires  ;  c'etait  le  Kremlin  cle  notre  histoire  moderne.' — Wia- 
seniski. 

The  chamber  is  shown,  which  saw  the  last  moments  of 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  I.,  whose  death,  during  the  Crimean 
war,  made  so  great  a  sensation  in  England.  After  receiving 
the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  Alma,  his  health  completely 
gave  way.  He  frequently  repeated  'On  ne  vit  pas  vieux 
dans  ma  famille.'  He  received  with  perfect  calm  from  his 
physician  the  news  that  his  case  was  hopeless.  He  pardoned 
his  enemies,  desired  that  the'  simple  words  '  The  Emperor 
is  .dying '  should  be  telegraphed  to  the  chief  towns  of  his 
Empire,  blessed  his  children  and  grandchildren,  and  thanked 
his  ministers,  his  army,  and  especially  the  brave  defenders 
of  Sebastopol  for  their  services.  To  the  Grand  Duke,  his 
son,  he  said,  '  My  great  wish  has  been  to  take  upon  myselt 
all  the  toils  and  difficulties  of  a  sovereign's  duties,  to  leave 
you  a  flourishing  and  well-ordered  empire.  Providence  has 
ordained  otherwise.  Now  I  am  going  to  pray  for  Russia 
and  for  you.  After  Russia,  I  have  loved  you  more  than 
anything  on  earth.' 

But  these  touching  souvenirs  are  almost  forgotten  in 
those  which  surround  the  tragic  end  (in  another  room  of  the 
palace)  of  his  son  the  Emperor  Alexander  II. 

On  Saturday,  March  13,  1881,  Alexander  communicated 
with  his  family  at  the  nine  o'clock  mass  in  his  private 


44  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

chapel.  After  this  he  breakfasted  with  several  intimate 
friends,  received  a  visit  from  his  doctor,  conversed  on  the 
subjects  of  the  day  with  his  morganatic  wife,  and,  a  little 
after  i  P.M.,  drove  to  be  present  at  a  military  review.  When 
this  was  over,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  cousin  the  Grand 
Duchess  Catherine,  and,  at  2  P.M.,  set  out  to  return  to  the 
palace  by  the  quiet  road  which  is  bordered  by  the  Catherine 
Canal  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  by  the  high  wall  of  the 
Summer  Garden.  The  carriage  of  the  Emperor  was  followed 
by  two  sledges,  the  first  containing  Colonel  Dvorjitsky,  head 
of  the  police  ;  the  second,  Captain  Kock.  Almost  imme- 
diately, a  loud  detonation  echoed  through  the  quay  of  the 
canal,  followed  by  thick  clouds  of  snow  and  debris,  forced 
up  by  a  bomb,  thrown  by  a  man  named  RyssakorT  under 
the  imperial  carriage,  of  which  it  had  burst  in  the  back  and 
smashed  the  windows.  The  coachman  tried  to  drive  on  at 
once,  but,  seeing  that  two  persons — one  belonging  to  the  six 
Cossacks  of  his  suite,  and  a  boy  of  fourteen  who  was  passing 
by  with  a  basket  on  his  head — were  wounded,  the  Emperor 
insisted  on  getting  out  of  his  carriage  and  going  himself  to 
look  after  them.  Afterwards  he  turned  to  reproach  the 
would-be  assassin,  who  had  been  captured  by  Captain  Kock. 
A  considerable  crowd  had  already  collected,  and  the  Cossack 
who  had  occupied  the  box  of  the  imperial  carriage,  followed 
his  master  and  implored  him  to  return.  Finding  that  the 
Emperor  persisted  in  advancing,  the  faithful  Cossack  urged 
Colonel  Dvorjitsky  to  caution  him,  but  without  avail.  The 
Emperor  enquired  carefully  into  the  circumstances  of  what 
had  taken  place,  and  then,  with  a  sad  and  preoccupied 
expression,  was  returning  to  his  carriage,  when  a  man  who 
had  stood  by  during  the  conversation,  and  who  had  been 


THE    WINTER  PALACE.  45 

remarked  for  the  insolence  of  his  manner,  raised  his  hands 
and  threw  a  white  object  at  the  feet  of  His  Majesty.  It 
was  a  second  bomb,  which  exploded  at  once.  A  column  of 
snow  and  dust  rose  in  the  air,  and  as  it  cleared  away, 
amongst  twenty  other  wounded  persons,  the  Emperor  was 
seen  in  a  seated  posture,  his  uniform  torn  away,  and  the 
lower  part  of  his  body  a  mass  of  torn  flesh  and  broken 
bones.  The  Grand-Duke  Michael,  who  had  heard  the  first 
explosion  in  a  neighbouring  palace,  arrived  just  at  this 
terrible  moment  and  was  recognised  by  his  brother.  It  was 
proposed  to  carry  the  Emperor  into  the  nearest  house,  but, 
in  broken  accents,  he  cried,  '  Quick,  home,  take  me  to  the 
palace — there — to  die,'  and  thither  he  was  carried,  marking 
his  terrible  course  in  blood  across  the  snow.  An  hour  later 
(3.35  P.M.)  he  expired,  having  received  the  last  sacraments 
and  surrounded  by  his  family.1 

'  Telle  fut  la  fin  clu  "  tsar  liberateur,"  qui  en  1861  avait  affranchi  les 
paysans,  en  1878  affranchi  les  chretiens  des  Balkans,  qui,  le  jour  meme 
de  1'attentat,  venait  de  donner  a  la  Russie  une  constitution,  mais  qui 
tombait  victime  d'une  politique  d'irresolution  aussi  funeste  a  son  pays 
qu'a  lui-meme.' — Rambaud,  'Hist,  de  la  Russie.'' 

The  balls  and  banquets  at  the  Winter  Palace  are  cele- 
brated for  their  magnificence,  especially  the  fetes  of  the  ist  of 
January,  and  have  always  been  worthy  of  the  ruler  of  so 
vast  an  Empire.  At  the  suppers  for  three  or  four  hundred 
guests  a  unique  decoration  is  often  introduced.  Immense 
orange  trees,  planted  in  tubs  which  are  placed  upon  the 
ground,  are  so  arranged  as  to  come  up  between  the  com- 
partments of  the  long  tables,  in  which  a  space  is  cut  out  to 

1  Alexandre  II :  Details  inedits  sur  sa  Vie  Intime  et  sa  Mori,  par  Victor 
Laferte,  1882. 


46  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

admit  of  the  trunk,  whilst  their  rich  foliage  and  fruit  over- 
shadow the  whole.1 

'  Des  que  la  cour  quitte  Petersbourg,  cette  magnifique  residence 
prend  1'aspect  d'une  salle  de  spectacle  apres  la  representation.' 

'Petersbourg  est  mort,  parce  que  1'empereur  est  a  Peterhoff.'— 
M.  de  Custine. 

On  the  further  side  of  the  Winter  Palace  flows  the  huge 
Neva^  moving  slowly,  thus  near  its  mouth,  between  solid 
granite  quays.  On  the  south  side  it  is  lined  with  palaces, 
chiefly  built  of  brick,  in  walls  five  or  six  feet  thick,  but  occa- 
sionally of  Finland  granite.  These  quays  are  the  pleasantest 
walk  in  the  town,  and  are  delightful  in  the  fresh  clearness  of 
the  northern  morning,  though  the  twilight  which  fills  three 
parts  of  Russian  life  is  also  full  of  picturesque  accidents. 
On  the  river  are  barges  of  hay,  like  houses  moving  slowly 
downwards,  and  along  the  bank  are  other  barges  from  which 
the  inhabitants  are  laying  in  their  stores  of  winter-wood,  cut 
into  short  blocks.  Beyond  the  river  stretch  the  warehouses 
of  Vassili  Ostrof  or  Basil  Island,  the  largest  of  the  islands  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Neva,  and  the  mercantile  quarter  of  the 
city.  Many  of  the  houses  here  are  still  built  of  wood,  which 
has  the  attraction  of  being  the  material  warmest  in  winter 
as  well  as  cheapest.  Few  of  the  houses  are  more  than  two 
stories  high  ;  an  enterprising  speculator  was  completely 
ruined  who  built  houses  of  several  stories  in  Vassili  Ostrof, 
as  no  Russian  could  be  found  who  would  mount  so  high. 

'  The  building  of  a  house  is  a  much  more  costly  undertaking  in 
S.  Petersburg  than  in  any  other  part  of  Russia.  Provisions  are  dear,  and 
the  price  of  labour  always  comparatively  high.  Then  the  ground 

1  See  Lady  Bloomfield,  Reminiscences  ofCoiirt  and  Diplomatic  Life. 


THE  NEVA.  47 

brings  often  enormously  high  prices.  There  are  private  houses,  the 
mere  ground  of  which  is  valued  at  200,000  roubles,  a  sum  for  which, 
in  other  parts  of  the  empire,  a  man  might  buy  an  estate  of  several  square 
leagues,  with  houses,  woods,  rivers,  and  lakes,  and  all  the  eagles, 
bears,  wolves,  oxen,  and  human  creatures,  &c.,  that  inhabit  them.  In 
particularly  favourable  situations  for  business  as  much  as  1,000  roubles 
a  year  has  been  paid  by  way  of  rent  for  every  window  looking  into  the 
street.  The  next  thing  that  renders  building  so  costly  is  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  a  solid  foundation.  The  spongy,  marshy  nature  of  the 
soil  makes  it  necessary  for  the  builder  to  begin  by  constructing  a  strong 
scaffolding  underground  before  he  can  think  of  rearing  one  over  it. 
Every  building  of  any  size  rests  on  piles,  and  would  vanish  like  a  stage 
ghost  were  it  not  for  the  enormous  beams  that  furnish  its  support.'— 
Kohl. 

In  all  parts  of  S.  Petersburg  there  is  the  same  difficulty 
—the  foundation.  Water  percolates  everywhere,  and  a 
foundation  of  piles  is  always  necessary. 

'  How  can  one  live  in  a  town  where  the  streets  are  so  damp  and 
the  hearts  so  dry  I"*  —  Count  Sollohub. 

The  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Academy  of  Arts,  and 
the  School  of  Marine  Cadets  vary  the  line  of  buildings  along 
the  quay  of  Vassili  Ostrof.  The  last  named  was  the  palace 
of  Mentchikoff ;  it  is  the  oldest  large  building  in  the  city, 
and  was  by  far  the  finest  building  of  Peter  the  Great's  time. 
Peter  could  always  see  Mentchikoff 's  lighted  windows  of  an 
evening,  and,  when  he  did  not  himself  visit  him,  comforted 
himself  with  the  reflection,  '  Danilitch  is  making  merry.' 

Very  different  is  this  scene  during  the  winter  months, 
when  the  Neva  becomes  the  great  highway  and  is  crowded 
with  all  the  best  and  the  worst  company  in  the  capital. 
The-Nikolskoi  Maros,  or  frost  of  S.  Nicholas,  begins  the  real 
winter.  Then,  when  you  cannot  face  the  outer  air  without 
a  gasp,  areas  are  set  apart  on  the  river  for  skating,  race- 


48  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

courses  for  sledges,  and  ice-hills  are  formed,  down  which 
timid  persons  are  accompanied  in  their  sledges  by  a  con- 
ductor. At  the  end  of  the  fast  which  closes  at  Christmas, 
a  market  is  held  on  the  Neva,  and  the  booths  form  a  street 
a  mile  long,  at  which  Russians  lay  in  their  provisions  for 
the  winter.  The  ice  becomes  immensely  thick,  but  holes 
are  made  in  it  for  the  washerwomen,  who  stand  upon  it  for 
hours  and  plunge  their  arms  into  the  freezing  water,  though 
the  cold  is  at  between  twenty  and  thirty  degrees  Reaumur, 
which  freezes  hats  to  heads  and  veils  to  faces.1  These  holes 
are  said  often  to  be  used  for  the  concealment  of  murdered 
bodies,  though  the  peaceful  character  of  the  Russians  is 
shown  in  nothing  more  than  the  rarity  of  the  deeds  of 
violence,  for  which  the  long  darkness  and  twilight  of  winter 
afford  such  enormous  facilities.  The  natives  are  wonder- 
fully impervious  not  only  to  cold  but  to  transitions,  and  the 
same  drivers  who  will  sleep  upon  their  stoves  at  home  are 
none  the  worse  for  sleeping  for  hours  in  the  open  air  through 
the  cold  winter  nights.  When  any  great  banquet  or  ball 
is  given,  huge  fires  are  lighted  in  the  streets  for  their  benefit, 
but  these  are  only  on  grand  occasions.  '  Oh,  little  father, 
thy  nose,  thy  nose  ! '  a  stranger  will  sometimes  exclaim, -and 
begin  rubbing  the  nose — the  white  and  chalky  nose — of  a 
foot-passenger,  with  a  handful  of  snow.  If  you  close  your 
eyes,  your  eyelids  are  immediately  frozen  down,  but  if  a 
man's  eyes  freeze  up,  he  will  knock  at  the  nearest  door,  and 
ask  to  come  in  and  be  melted  at  the  stove. 

At  twenty  degrees  of  cold,  children  are  seldom  allowed 
to  go  out.     Only  soldiers  and  officers  must  never  shrink  from 

1  Washing,  however,  is  so  ill  done  in  S.  Petersburg  that  it  is  frequently  sent  to 
London  and  returned  in  a  fortnight. 


BENEDICTION  OF  THE    WATERS.  49 

their  duty,  parades  must  never  be  interrupted,  not  a  sign  of 
a  cloak  must  be  seen.  The  Emperor  never  hesitates  to 
expose  himself  to  any  amount  of  snow,  rain,  or  wind,  and 
his  officers  must  do  the  same.  The  most  pitiable  objects 
in  a  Russian  winter  are  the  recruits,  who,  taken  away  from 
their  hot  huts  and  sheepskin  clothing,  are  hardly  able  to 
hold  their  muskets,  whilst  their  fur-clad  countrymen  are 
walking  about  at  their  ease. 

It  is  immediately  in  front  of  the  Winter  Palace  that,  on 
the  festival  of  Epiphania  or  Theophania  (January  6),  the 
ceremony  of  the  Benediction  of  the  Waters  takes  place.  A 
wooden  temple  is  erected  on  the  ice,  richly  gilt  and  painted, 
and  hung  round  with  sacred  pictures,  especially  of  S.  John 
the  Baptist.  This  temple  is  called  the  Jordan,  a  name  in 
frequent  use  for  any  baptistery  or  font,  or  any  basin  in 
which  holy  water  is  contained.  The  Jordan  is  surrounded 
by  a  hedge  of  fir  boughs,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  a  hole  is  cut 
through  the  ice  to  the  water.  To  this  a  platform  of  boards, 
covered  with  red  cloth,  and  fenced  in  by  fir-boughs,  is  laid 
from  the  shore  for  the  procession  to  pass  over.  First  a 
service  is  held  in  the  imperial  chapel,  and  then,  between 
lines  of  troops  and  standards,  the  clerks,  deacons,  priests, 
archimandrites,  and  bishops,  in  their  richest  robes,  pass, 
carrying  lighted  tapers,  censers,  the  Gospel,  and  sacred 
pictures  and  banners,  followed  by  the  Emperor,  the  Grand 
Dukes,  and  ail  the  court.  As  it  moves,  the  procession  sings 
the  following  tropariums — 

'  The  voice  of  the  Lord  cried  aloud  upon  the  waters,  saying  :  Come 
hither,  and  receive  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  the  spirit  of  understanding, 
and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  of  Christ,  who  is  manifested  unto  us  ' 
(Thrice). 

E 


50  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

1  This  day  is  the  nature  of  water  sanctified  ;  Jordan  floweth  out, 
the  streams  of  his  waters  burst  forth,  when  he  beholds  the  Lord 
baptised '  ( Twice}. 

*  Thou,  O  "Christ,  the  King,  as  a  man  didst  come  to  the  river,  and 
£is  a  servant  didst  desire  to  be  baptised  by  the  hand  of  the  fore-runner, 
for  our  sins ;  O  Thou  who  art  good,  and  the  lover  of  mankind  ' 
( Twice). 

The  Benediction  of  the  Waters  then  takes  place  in 
memory  of  the  baptism  of  Christ,  and  by  it  the  Russian 
Church  maintains  that  the  nature  of  all  waters  is  sanctified, 
and  such  virtue  given  to  the  water  especially  blest,  that  it 
will  remain  uncorrupt  for  years,  and  be  as  fresh  as  water 
immediately  taken  from  the  spring  or  river.  The  soldiers 
fire  as  soon  as  the  service  is  finished.  All  are  sprinkled 
with  holy  water  with  a  bunch  of  basilka  or  herb  Basil,  and 
the  procession  returns  to  the  church,  where  some  of  the 
consecrated  water  is  given  to  the  priests  and  congregation 
to  drink,  with  the  words — 

'  Let  us  faithfully  celebrate  the  greatness  of  the  Divine  mercy 
towards  us  ;  for  being  made  man  for  our  sins,  He  perfected  our 
purification  in  Jordan  ;  He,  who  alone  is  pure  and  unblemished, 
sanctifieth  me  and  the  waters,  and  bruiseth  the  heads  of  the  serpents  in 
the  waters.  Let  us,  therefore,  my  brethren,  drink  of  this  water  with 
joy,  for  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  invisibly  imparted  to  all  who 
drink  thereof  with  faith,  by  Christ  our  God,  the  Saviour  of  our  souls.'  l 

It  was  at  the  Benediction  of  the  Neva  that  both  Peter 
the  Great  and  his  grandson  Peter  II.  caught  the  colds  of 
which  they  died.  Alexander  I.  had  three  fingers  frost-bitten 
during  the  same  ceremony,  and  they  had  to  be  rubbed  with 
snow  before  he  returned  to  the  palace,  and  one  of  his 
courtiers  died  of  the  cold  on  the  occasion.2 

1  See   Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Russia,   by  John  Glen 
King,  D.D.,  Chaplain  to  the  British  Factory  at  S.  Petersburg,  1772. 
*  See  Joyneville. 


THE  NEVA.  51 

If  they  can,  numbers  of  people  will  plunge,  from  religious 
motives,  into  the  hole,  made  for  the  Benediction,  in  the  ice, 
and  quantities  of  babies  are  dipped  through  it.  If  they  die, 
which  of  course  they  generally  do,  heaven  is  secured  for 
them  ;  but,  strange  to  say,  this  kind  of  infanticide  is  allowed, 
though  there  is  no  country  where  population  is  so  much 
needed  as  in  Russia.  On  the  evening  on  which  the  service 
is  performed,  all  devout  Russians  make  crosses  on  their 
window-shutters  and  doors,  to  prevent  the  evil  spirits  expelled 
from  the  water  from  entering  their  houses. 

S.  Petersburg  is  indebted  for  everything  to  the  Neva — 
food,  clothing,  water,  building-materials.  It  is  the  greatest 
source  of  pride  to  the  inhabitants,  but,  like  the  Nile,  it  is  the 
greatest  source  of  terror  also.  The  length  of  the  river  within 
the  tovm  is  thirteen  English  miles.  If  a  westerly  storm,  high 
water,  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  were  ever  to  occur  to- 
gether, the  whole  city  must  be  destroyed.  Water  is  the  enemy 
most  to  be  dreaded  in  S.  Petersburg,  as  fire  is  in  other  cities. 

The  ice  generally  breaks  up  about  April  20.  No  one, 
however,  is  allowed  to  use  the  river  till  the  governor  of  the 
fortress  has  come  to  present  some  of  the  water  to  the 
Emperor  in  a  goblet.  This  the  Emperor  is  expected  to 
drain,  and  to  return  to  the  governor  filled  with  gold  pieces, 
but  latterly  it  has  been  found  that  the  goblet  increased 
annually  in  size,  so  the  sum  given  now  is  fixed  at  two 
hundred  ducats.  After  the  presentation  of  the  water,  the 
governor  is  rowed  down  the  river  in  his  state  barge  to  show- 
that  the  navigation  is  open  and  safe,  and,  soon  after,  the 
arrival  of  the  first  ship  is  hailed  as  a  subject  of  great  re- 
joicing. At  this  time  S.  Petersburg  is  at  its  unhealthiest, 
and  the  smells  are  terrible  from  the  masses  of  rubbish  and 

E  2 


52  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

offal  which  the  people  have  been   allowed  unchecked  to 
throw  upon  the  canals  all  through  the  winter. 

Whenever  the  Neva  passes  its  usual  level,  guns  are  fired. 
The  first  attracts  no  attention  :  it  is  *  only  an  inundation.' 
At  the  second  gun,  horses  are  moved  from  the  stables  in  the 
lower  town,  and  other  precautions  are  taken.  Cellars  are 
frequently  flooded  in  the  course  of  the  winter.  The  vaunted 
water  of  the  river  is  often  very  dangerous  to  strangers  and 
productive  of  serious  illnesses. 


Any  strangers  taking  their  first  walk  in  S.  Petersburg 
will  be  attracted  to  turn  to  the  left,  from  the  Winter  Palace, 
by  the  pretty  and  quaint  spire  of  the  Admiralty.  This  and 
the  spire  of  the  citadel  are  covered  with  the  gold  of  the 
ducats  of  Holland  offered  by  the  Dutch  republic  to  Peter 
the  Great.  In  happier  times,  at  the  parades  held  in  front 
of  the  Admiralty,  the  Emperor  used  to  command  in  person. 
Several  thousand  men  with  officers  and  generals  in  brilliant 
uniforms  always  made  a  handsome  spectacle.  As  the 
Emperor  rode  up  with  his  staff,  the  soldiers  presented  arms 
and  the  spectators  uncovered.  '  Good  morning,  my  children,' 
saluted  the  Emperor.  'We  thank  your  Majesty,'  answered 
a  thousand  voices  at  once. 

In  the  centre  of  the  garden,  beyond  the  Admiralty,  stands 
the  famous  Statue  of  Peter  the  Great.  It  was  executed  by 
the  Frenchman  Falconet,  and  represents  the  Emperor  in  the 
most  impossible  of  positions,  reining  in  his  horse  upon 
the  very  edge  of  a  precipice,  stretching  out  his  hand  towards 
the  Neva,  and  trampling  on  the  enormous  serpent  of  Con- 


STATUE  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT, 


53 


spiracy,  which  enables  his  horse  to  stand,  by  holding  on  at 
its  tail.  The  pedestal  bears  the  simple  inscription  '  Petramu 
Permovu,  Catherina  Vtovaya '  ('to  Peter  the  First,  Catherine 


THE   ADMIRALTY   TOWER. 


the  Second ').  It  is  said  to  be  the  reck  upon  which  Peter 
stood  when  he  was  watching  a  naval  victory  over  the 
Swedes  from  the  land.  It  was  brought  from  Lachta  in 
Finland,  and,  to  transport  it,  a  mcrass  had  to  be  drained,  a 


54  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

forest  cleared,  and  a  road  of  four  versts  constructed  to  the 
shore.  Originally  it  was  forty-two  feet  long  at  the  base,  and 
thirty-six  at  the  top,  it  was  eleven  feet  broad,  and  seventeen 
high,  and  weighed  1,500  tons,  but  much  of  the  jagged  edges 
has  been  shorn  away,  and  the  original  effect  of  the  vast 
unwieldy  mass  is  destroyed.  One  side  of  the  rock  had  been 
damaged  by  lightning,  and,  on  knocking  off  the  fragment 
thus  shattered,  a  collection  of  different  semi-precious  stones — 
crystals,  topazes,  amethysts — appeared,  a  subject  of  interest- 
ing investigation  to  naturalists,  and,  cut  up  and  polished, 
they  found  a  rapid  sale  throughout  the  Empire.  On  the 
day  on  which  the  statue  was  placed  on  its  pedestal,  the 
Empress  Catherine  released  all  debtors  who  had  been  five 
years  in  confinement,  and  remitted  all  debts  to  the  Crown 
of  less  than  500  roubles. 

Upon  the  garden  which  contains  this  statue,  the  Cathedral 
of  S.  Isaac  looks  down,  which,  in  spite  of  many  defects,  is 
the  queen  of  S.  Petersburg  churches.  It  is  founded  upon 
piles,  and  their  never  having  been  properly  secured  has 
necessitated  constant  repairs  and  rebuilding.  The  original 
foundation  cost  nearly  a  million  of  roubles,  for  which  the 
church  might  have  been  built  in  some  countries.  The  first 
edifice  was  of  wood,  and  it  was  rebuilt  in  stone.  Then  it 
was  nobly  begun  again  in  marble  by  Catherine  II.1  and 
unworthily  finished  in  brick  by  Paul  I.,  whence  the  epigram, 
for  which  the  author  paid  in  Siberia,  '  This  church  is  the 
symbol  of  three  reigns,  granite,  pride,  and  destruction.' 
The  present  church  was  begun  afresh  in  1819  and  finished 
in  1858,  but  it  already  shows  signs  of  perishing  from  the 

1  The  medal  struck  by  Catherine  II.  on  the  occasion  of  her  laying  the  foundation- 
stone  bears  on  the  reverse,  '  Render  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's,  and  unto 
C'a-sar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's.' 


CATHEDRAL   OF  S.  ISAAC.  55 

sinking  of  its  foundations.  It  is  dedicated  to  S.  Isaac  of 
Dalmatia,  on  whose  festival  (May  30,  1672)  Peter  the  Great 
was  born.  Its  pillars  are  glorious  granite  monoliths  from 
Finland,  buried  there  for  centuries  amidst  the  swamps,  and 
the  proportions  of  the  interior  are  very  noble  and  striking. 
The  porch  is  full  of  male  beggars,  who  prostrate  themselves 
before  all  who  pass  by,  and  are  considered,  as  all  beggars  in 
Russia,  to  be  rather  holy  persons.  Inside  are  the  far  holier 
female  beggars,  curvetting,  smirking,  and  prostrating,  two 
rows  of  the  strangest  figures,  like  witches,  in  high  peaked 
hoods.  These  are  nuns,  who  are  sent  out  to  beg  for  a 
certain  number  of  years,  a  certain  sum  being  fixed,  which 
they  are  expected  to  acquire  for  the  sisterhood,  and  which, 
once  obtained,  secures  their  being  provided  for  in  their  old 
age.  The  vast  number  of  these  begging  nuns  in  Russia  is 
a  result  of  the  confiscation  of  monastic  property  under 
Catherine  II.,  which  was  received  without  a  murmur  by  the 
people,  a  sign  that  monasticism  excited  little  love  or  respect. 
No  seats  are  permitted  in  the  Russian  churches,  except 
occasionally  for  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  and,  in  old 
churches,  especially  in  monastic  churches,  for  the  abbot  or 
bishop.  The  congregation  always  stand,  except  on  Wednes- 
days and  Fridays  in  Lent,  when  they  kneel  at  a  particular 
part  of  the  Liturgy  and  Communion,  and  on  a  few  other 
occasions.  This  is  perhaps  one  reason  for  the  great  pre- 
dominance of  men  in  the  congregations  ;  but  indeed,  with 
the  perpetual  bowing  and  prostrating,  seats  would  be  a  great 
inconvenience.  Everyone  prostrates,  not  at  any  particular 
point  in  the  service,  but  when  he  feels  so  disposed,  and 
when  you  see  anyone  look  out  for  a  good  open  space,  you 
may  be  sure  that  in  another  moment  he  will  fall  flat  on  the 


56  .      STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

pavement.  The  dirty  habits  of  the  Russians  make  their 
church-services  a  terrible  penance  to  strangers,  and  it  is 
desirable  to  give  a  wide  berth  to  the  peasants,  especially  to 
the  men  in  sheepskins,  which  are  always  swarming  with 
vermin.  Almost  all  the  men  wear  beards,  well  cared  for  by 
the  young,  but  neglected  by  the  old. 

'Nothing  but  brown-haired  peasants'  heads.  To  and  fro  they 
came,  with  an  undulating  movement,  prostrated  themselves,  and  then 
arose,  just  as  the  ripe  ears  of  corn  bow  when  the  summer  breeze  stirs 
them  like  the  waves.' — Ivan  Tourgnhieff,  '  SeniliaS 

All  Russian  churches  stand  due  east  and  west  with  the 
altar  at  the  east,  from  the  original  tendency  to  turn  towards 
the  rising  sun,  because  the  essence  of  God  is  light.  The 
church  is  entered  on  the  west  by  the  narthex  or  porch. 
This  leads  into  the  trapeza,  or  outer  church,  whence  we 
enter  the  vaos  or  church  itself.  Here,  on  the  top  of  the 
steps  -leading  to  the  altar,  stands  the  ambon  (from  d//,/3atVu> 
to  ascend),  where  the  officiating  minister  stands  at  particular 
parts  of  the  service.  Behind  this  is  the  iconastos,  or  screen, 
in  which  are  three  doors,  the  central  being  called  the  holy, 
royal,  or  beautiful  door.  .Within  the  screen  is  the  Holy 
Table,1  with  four  small  columns  supporting  a  canopy,  from 
which  a  peristerion,  or  dove,  is  suspended  as  a  symbol  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  on  which  the  cross  is  always  laid,  with  the 
Gospel,  and  the  pyxis  or  box  in  which  part  of  the  consecrated 
elements  is  preserved  for  visiting  the  sick.  Behind  the 
Holy  Table  is  the  High  Place  or  holy  throne,  in  which  the 
Bishop  alone  has  a  right  to  sit.  On  the  left  is  the  prothesis 

1  The  word  altar  has  crept  into  the  Russian  rubric,  but  is  there  constantly  used 
to  signify  all  the  space  between  the  iconastos  where  the  Holy  Table  stands,  never 
the  Holy  Table  itself. 


CATHEDRAL   OF  S.  ISAAC.  57 

or  table  of  proposition,  on  which  the  elements  are  placed 
and  prepared  before  the  consecration.  On  the  right,  in 
older  churches,  is  the  sacristy,  where  the  holy  utensils  and 
vestments  of  the  priests  were  kept.  The  analogion  is  a 
portable  folding  desk,  upon  which  the  book  of  the  reader  is 
placed.  In  some  modern  churches  the  prothesis'.and  vestry 
are  changed  into  altars,  but  this  is  an  innovation:  the  ancient 
orthodox  Greek  Church  only  knew  one  altar  in  a  church. 
The  reading  from  three  different  desks  is  intended  to  typify 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  throughout  the  world.1 

The  most  striking  feature  in  S  Isaac's,  as  in  every  Russian 
church,  is  the  golden  screen  or  iconastos,  shutting  off 
the  inner  sanctuary,  where  the  Greek  priest  is  far  more  entirely 
withdrawn  from  the  congregation  than  the  Latin  priest 
standing  before  the  altar.  Here  the  screen  is  decorated  by 
huge  columns  of  malachite,  which  are  greatly  admired  by 
the  Russians,  though  they  have  the  effect  of  green  paint, 
but  some  lapis  lazuli  columns  at  the  portal  are  very  beautiful. 

The  Virgin  Mary,  the  Apostles,  and  the  vast  number  of 
saints  with  which  its  calendar  abounds,  obtain  only  a 
secondary  devotion  in  the  Greek  Church,  which  denies  that 
it  adores  them  as  gods,  maintaining  that  it  only  shows  them 
the  respect  due  to  those  cleansed  from  original  sin  and 
admitted  to  converse  with  the  Deity,  and  that  it  considers 
it  more  modest  and  available  to  apply  to  them  to  intercede 
with  God  than  to  address  themselves  directly  to  the 
Almighty.2  Part  of  the  oath  taken  by  Russian  bishops  at 
their  consecration  includes,  amongst  the  provisions  intro- 
duced by  Peter  the  Great,  a  promise  to  'provide  that  honour 
be  paid  to  God  only,  not  to  the  holy  pictures,  and  that  no 

1  See  King.  z  See  King. 


58  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

false  miracles  be  ascribed  to  them.'  But  though  these  are 
the  authorised  tenets  of  the  Church,  no  one  who  has  been 
much  in  Russia  will  believe  that  a  less  blind  devotion  is 
shown  either  to  the  saints  or  pictures  there  than  in  Roman 
Catholic  countries. 

Upon  the  iconastos  of  a  Russian  church  always  hang 
the  sacred  icons  or  pictures,  in  a  regular  order.  In  the 
place  of  honour,  on  the  south  side  of  the  door,  is  the  figure 
of  the  Redeemer.  On  the  north  side  is  the  Madonna, 
whom  the  Greek  Church  holds  in  intense  veneration,  without 
allotting  her  any  precise  part  in  the  scheme  of  salvation  or 
protection  of  the  Church,  or  precisely  allowing  the  reverence 
for  her  sanctity  to  'crystallise  into  the  dogma  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception.' l  Her  death,  which  is  also  often 
represented,  is  always  '  the  sleep,'  not  '  the  assumption,'  of 
the  Virgin.  Next  to  the  Saviour  is  always  placed  the 
Saint  to  whom  the  church  is  dedicated  ;  the  position  of 
the  other  pictures  may  be  changed.  The  pictures  are 
covered  with  gilt  metal,  which  is  often  encrusted  with  jewels, 
except  the  face  and  hands,  which  are  left  exposed.  The 
Russian  Church,  therefore,  whilst  tenaciously  insisting  on 
the  observance  of  the  commandment,  '  Thou  shalt  not  make 
to  thyself  any  graven  image,'  neglects  the  second  part  of 
the  precept,  *  or  the  likeness  of  anything  in  heaven  or  earth.' 

'The  Greek  Church  admits  the  use  of  pictures  to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  and  to  assist  the  devotion  of  others  by  those  sensible  repre- 
sentations ;  nor  do  they  herein  think  themselves  guilty  of  any  breach  of 
the  second  commandment,  as  to  the  manner  of  worship  ;  not  only 
because  they  say  these  pictures  are  used  merely  as  remembrances  of  the 
saints,  to  whom  their  respect  is  directed,  but  because  the  design  of 
Moses,  according  to  them,  in  prohibiting  the  making  and  worshipping 

1  See  Stanley's  Eastern  Church. 


RUSSIAN  SERVICES.  59 

graven  images,  was  merely  to  prohibit  worshipping  the  idols  of  the 
Gentiles,  which  the  Gentiles  believed  to  be  gods,  whereas  they  admit 
no  graven  images,  but  pictures  only,  upon  which  the  name  of  the  saint 
represented  must  always  be  inscribed.' — King. 

'  All  their  churches  are  full  of  images,  unto  which  the  people,  when 
they  assemble,  doe  bowe  and  knocke  their  heads,  so  that  some  will 
have  knobbes  upon  their  foreheads  with  knocking  as  great  as  egges.'— 
Letters  of  Master  Anthonie  Jenkinson,  1557. 

To  outsiders,  the  greater  part  of  the  Russian  services 
are  monotonous,  two  choirs  alternatively  taking  up  a  sweet 
and  plaintive  chant,  in  which  the  words  *  Gospodi,  Gospodi 
pamilui'  ('Lord,  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us  ! ')  soon  become 
familiar ;  indeed,  their  repetition  is  so  constant  that  many 
travellers  have  declared  that  no  other  prayers  are  used  in 
the  Russian  Church. 

'  All  their  service  is  in  the  Russe  tongue,  and  the  priestes  and  the 
common  people  have  no  other  praiers  but  this  :  Ghospodi  Jesus  Christos 
esine  voze  ponuloi  nashe.  That  is  to  say,  O  Lorde  Jesus  Christ,  sonne 
of  God,  have  mercy  upon  us  ;  and  this  is  their  prayer,  so  that  the  most 
part  of  the  unlearned  know  neither  Paternoster,  nor  the  Beleefe,  nor 
Ten  Commandments,  nor  scarcely  understand  the  one  halfe  of  their 
service  which  is  read  in  their  churches.' — Letters  of  Master  Anthonie 
Jenkinson,  1557. 

'  There  is  no  degree,  no  variety  in  the  melody  of  the  Russian 
Church;  all  is  a  sweet,  harmonious  murmur.  A  "Creation,"  "Last 
Judgment,"  a  "  Requiem,"  could  never  find  birth  in  Russian  church 
music.  It  is  like  the  monotonous  whisper  of  the  brook  set  to  music. 
The  chief  part  turns  on  the  words  "  Gospodi  pomilui"  (Lord,  have 
mercy),  "  Gospodi pomolimsa  "  (Lord,  we  pray  Thee),  "  Padai  Gospodi'''' 
(Grant  this,  O  Lord).  With  these  words  the  singers  continually  interrupt 
the  prayers  of  the  priest.  The  different  modulations  of  the  melodies  on 
these  few  words  form  the  chief  study  of  the  Russian  choristers  ;  during 
a  many-hours'  service  they  are  only  occasionally  varied  by  a  psalm  or 
two,  and  a  prayer  for  the  emperor.' — Kohl. 

The  service-books  are  all  in  the  Slavonian  tongue,  which, 


60  STUDIES  IN  R USSIA. 

though  the  ancient  language  of  the  country,  differs  so  greatly 
from  that  in  present  use  as  to  be  an  unknown  tongue  to  the 
greater  part  of  the  congregation. l  However,  the  congregation 
is  not  supposed  to  make  any  responses  in  the  service,  which 
is  performed  by  the  priest,  a  deacon,  a  reader,  and  the  singers 
divided  into  two  choirs.  While  the  priest  stands  with  his 
face  to  the  east  and  repeats  the  prayers,  the  choir  is  almost 
constantly  singing  hymns,  and  the  priest,  for  the  most  part, 
reads  in  so  low  a  voice  that  the  people  are  not  even  supposed 
to  pray  themselves  or  to  hear  the  prayers  he  offers  on  their 
behalf.  This  practice  seems  to  have  arisen  from  an  idea, 
shown  in  the  ancient  appellation  of  mediators  as  applied  to 
the  priests,  in  the  sense  in  which  some  think  S.  Paul  (Gal. 
iii.  19)  spoke  of  Moses  as  a  mediator,  because  he  was  the 
internuncins  to  relate  the  mind  of  God  to  the  people  and  the 
requests  of  the  people  to  God.  Therefore  the  Russian  con- 
gregations only  join  in  the  service  by  crossing  themselves 
and  bowing  when  '  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us '  is  repeated, 
and  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  prayer.  They  cross 
themselves  by  touching  the  forehead  first,  then  on  the  breast, 
then  the  right  shoulder,  and  then  the  left,  thereby  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  and  with  the  thumb,  the  fist,  and 
middle  fingers  bent  together,  the  three  fingers  signifying  the 
Trinity.  These  are  called  the  inclinations  or  reverences,  but 
the  greater  inclinations  are  made  by  prostrating  themselves 
till  their  foreheads  touch  the  ground.2 

The  grand  moment  of  the  service  is  when  the  holy  or 
royal  doors  are  opened,  or  the  veil  withdrawn  and  the  splen- 

1  A  list  and  explanation  of  the  immense  numbers  of  different  service-books  used 
in  the  Greek  Church  is  given  in  the  dissertation,  '  De  Libris  et  Officiis  Ecclesiasticis 
Graecorum,'  in  Cave's  Historia  Literaria,  1743. 

a  See  King. 


RUSSIAN  SERVICES.  61 

clours  of  the  inner  sanctuary  revealed,  often  with  life-size 
figures  of  the  Apostles  round  the  golden  walls,  in  the  case  of 
the  Isaac  Church,  with  the  figure  of  the  Redeemer  on  the 
stained  glass,  which  forms  the  principal  light  of  the  dark 
church. 

'  Quand  le  pretre  sort  du  sanctuaire,  oil  il  reste  renferme  pendant 
qu'il  communie,  on  dirait  qu'on  voit  s'ouvrir  les  portes  du  jour  ;  le 
nuage  d'encens  qui  1'environne,  1'argent,  1'or  et  les  pierreries  qui 
brillent  sur  ses  vetemens  et  dans  1'eglise,  semblent  venir  du  pays  ou 
1'on  adorait  le  soleil.' — Madame  de  Stael. 

'  The  Nicene  and  Athanasian  creeds,  which  are  received  in  almost 
all  other  Christian  Churches,  are  the  symbols  of  faith  in  this.  The 
Greek  Church  holds  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  but  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father  only,  and  not  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son  ;  accordingly,  the  eighth  article  of  the  Nicene  Creed  in  their 
reading  runs  thus  :  "  And  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord  and  Giver  of 
life,  who  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  and,  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son  together,  is  worshipped,"  &c.,  as  it  was  at  first  drawn  up  at  the 
Council,  the  term  Filioque  being  afterwards  added  by  the  Latin  Church, 
and,  of  course,  the  corresponding  article  in  the  Athanasian  Creed  to  the 
same  effect.' — King. 

( If  an  Anglican  could  be  taken  into  a  Greek  or  Russian  church 
just  at  such  parts  of  the  service  as  the  following  :  for  the  reading  of  the 
Gospel,  and  often  also  of  the  Epistle,  for  the  singing  of  the  Great 
Doxology  at  Matins,  or  of  the  "  <?>£s  t'Actpo;/,"  on  any  great  festival  at 
Vespers,  or  during  any  of  the  singings  of  the  Vespers  or  Matins,  or  at 
almost  any  part  of  the  celebration  of  the  Liturgy,  the  impression  pro- 
duced would  certainly  be  one  of  reverence  and  respect.  On  the 
contrary,  if  he  chanced  to  be  present  at  the  reading  of  the  lesser 
services,  as  the  Hours,  or  Compline,  or  a  riopci/c\rja-js,  at  the  reading  of 
the  Cathisms  of  the  Psalter  (that  is,  of  the  divisions  of  the  Psalter,  as 
appointed  to  be  read  in  course),  he  would  be  utterly  annoyed  and  shocked. 
He  would  say,  "  If  ever  God  was  mocked  with  a  lip-service,  He  is  so 
assuredly  now,  and  in  the  Greek  Church.  Neither  Jewish  Rabbis  nor 
Buddhist  priests  of  the  heathen  can  gabble  over  their  unspiritual  carica- 
ture of  worship  in  a  more  profane  way."  No  words  can  be  found  too 
strong,  none  indeed  strong  enough,  to  express  what  he  would  feel  ;  and 
the  more  serious  and  religious  the  observer,  the  deeper  would  be  his 
pain  and  wonder.  As  regards,  some  other  things,  such  as  the  reading 


62  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


of  the  'ElaiJ/aA/ioj  at  Matins,  or  of  the  introductory  Psalm  at  Vespers,  the 
bidding  of  the  'E/crei/eTs,  and  the  responding  to  these,  at  the  performance 
of  any  occasional  offices,  as  a  baptism,  a  wedding,  or  a  funeral,  the 
impression  produced  would  vary  much,  according  to  the  manner  and 
spirit  of  the  priest  officiating.  Sometimes  the  stranger  would  hear 
only  a  slovenly  and  profane  gabbling,  as  in  the  preceding  cases  ;  some- 
times the  performance  would  not  seem  altogether  irreligious.  The 
saying  of  the  introductory  or  concluding  prayers  in  every  office  would 
almost  always  strike  him  in  its  worst  light.'  —  W.  Palmer,  '  Dissertations 
on  the  Orthodox  Communion.'' 

All  bishops  officiate  in  a  saccos,  which  retains  the  humble 
name  of  a  sack  in  memory  of  the  garment  worn  by  the 
Saviour,  but  is  made  of  the  most  magnificent  materials. 
Over  this  is  worn  the  omophorion,  now  of  silk,  but  formerly 
of  sheep's  wool,  typical  of  the  lost  sheep  which  Christ,  the 
good  Shepherd,  bore  on  his  shoulders.  He  gives  the 
benediction  holding  two  candlesticks—  one  with  three 
branches,  typical  of  the  Trinity  :  the  other  with  two,  typi- 
cal of  the  two  natures  of  Christ.1  In  each  the  flame  is 
united. 

Two  hundred  steps  lead  from  a  door  in  the  side  of  the 
portico  to  the  roof  of  S.  Isaac's  Church,  whence  there  is  a 
lovely  view  over  the  pink-grey  city  with  its  domes  and 
minarets.  The  pillars  of  the  cupola  are  all  of  native  granite. 
A  passage  inside  these  and  a  narrower  staircase  lead  to  the 
summit.  Nowhere  are  the  ramifications  of  the  city  better 
seen  than  from  this  point.  We  can  see  the  forty  islands  in 
the  delta  of  the  Neva,  many  still  swampy  and  uninhabited, 
and  scarcely  known  even  by  name  in  S.  Petersburg.  To 
the  north  stretches  the  most  important  part  of  the  town  — 
the  Bolshaia  Storona,  or  '  Great  Side  '  —  a  thickly  built  mass 
of  houses,  divided  in  semicircular  form  by  the  Moika, 

1  See  King. 


VIEW  FROM  S.  ISAAC'S.  63 

Catherine,  and  Fontanka  canals.  These  divisions,  known 
as  the  first,  second,  and  third  Admiralty  sections,  are  again 
subdivided  by  three  principal  streets — the  Nevskoi  Prospekt, 
the  Gorokhovaia  Oulitza  (Peas  street),  and  the  Vos-nos- 
enskoi  Prospekt  (Resurrection  Perspective).  The  direction 
of  these  streets  and  canals  determines  that  of  the  other  prin- 
cipal streets — the  Great  and  Little  Morskaia,  the  Great  and 
Little  Millionava,  the  Meshtshanskaia,  and  the  Sadovaia  or 
Garden  street.  To  the  west,  beyond  the  broad  Neva,  is 
Vassili  Ostrof  or  Basil  Island,  the  commercial  town  of 
Peter  the  Great,  containing  the  Exchange,  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  and  the  University.  To  the  north  is  the  Peters- 
burgskaia  Storona  or  Petersburg  Side,  the  oldest  part  of  the 
town,  containing  the  Citadel,  which  commands  only  the 
town  itself,  and  would  be  useless  as  a  means  of  defence  from 
a  foreign  enemy  ;  and  to  the  east  is  the  Viborg  Side,  full  of 
barracks  and  factories.  Scattered  over  the  town  we  see 
the  stashes  or  watch-towers  for  the  police,  whence  they  give 
notice  of  danger  from  its  two  enemies — fire  and  water — 

'  The  streets  in  S.  Petersburg  are  so  broad,  the  open  spaces  so  vast, 
the  arms  of  the  river  so  mighty,  that,  large  as  the  houses  are  in  them- 
selves, they  are  made  to  appear  small  by  the  gigantic  plan  of  the  whole. 
This  effect  is  increased  by  the  extreme  flatness  of  the  site  on  which  the 
city  stands.  No  building  is  raised  above  the  other.  Masses  of  archi- 
tecture, worthy  of  mountains  for  their  pedestals,  are  ranged  side  by 
side  in  endless  lines.  Nowhere  gratified,  either  by  elevation  or  group- 
ing, the  eye  wanders  over  a  monotonous  sea  of  undulating  palaces.' — 
Kohl. 

'  Aussi,  quelque  cheque  qu'on  soit  des  sottes  imitations  qui  gatent 
I'aspect  de  Petersbourg,  ne  peut-on  contempler  sans  une  sorte  d'admira- 
tion  cette  ville  sortie  de  la  mer  a  la  voix  d'un  homme,  et  qui,  pour 
subsister,  se  defend  contre  une  inondation  periodique  de  glace  et 
permanente  d'eau  ;  c'est  le  resultat  d'une  force  de  volonte  immense. 
Si  Ton  n'admire  pas,  on  craint ;  c'est  presque  respecter.' — M.  de  Custine. 


64  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

announcing  water  by  red  flags,  and  fire,  in  the  daytime,  by 
balls  of  black  leather,  and  at  night  by  red  lights. 

The  great  bell  of  S.  Isaac's  is  the  finest  in  this  city  of 
fine  bells.  It  weighs  53,072  Ibs.,  and  is  ornamented  with  a 
relief  of  S.  Isaac  of  Dalmatia,  and  of  its  five  imperial 
founders  (for  it  was  begun  five  times) — Peter  I.,  Catherine 
II.,  Paul  L,  Alexander  L,  and  Nicholas  I. 

The  centre  of  the  great  square  on  the  west  of  S.  Isaac's 
is  occupied  by  a  magnificent  equestrian  Statue  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  Paulovitch,  who  was  the  most  remarkable  sovereign 
of  his  generation.  Severely  brought  up  by  his  mother,  the 
Empress  Marie,  he  was  only  five  years  old  when  his  brother 
Alexander  I.  succeeded  to  the  Russian  throne.  During  his 
brother's  life  he  remained  entirely  in  the  background,  en- 
grossed in  the  military  duties  which  were  the  joy  of  his  heart, 
and  never  taking  any  part  in  the  government  or  being  asso- 
ciated in  any  council.  He  had  attained  his  thirtieth  year 
when  Alexander  died  at  Taganrog  in  December  1825.  His 
brother  Constantine,  sixteen  years  older  than  himself,  vicious, 
cruel,  and  the  scourge  of  all  around  him,  was  universally 
detested,  and  the  worst  consequences  were  anticipated. 
But,  to  the  relief  of 'all,  when  the  council  assembled  after 
Alexander's  death,  a  sealed  packet  was  opened,  dated 
January  1822,  by  which  Constantine,  who  knew  his  un- 
popularity, abdicated  all  his  claims.  Still  Nicholas  refused 
to  accept  the  throne  until  he  received,  from  his  brother  him- 
self, a  confirmation  of  his  abdication.  His  first  act  was  a 
most  spirited  suppression  of  insurrection  in  the  capital,  and 
the  same  courage  displayed  itself  during  the  cholera  in 
Moscow  (1830),  when  the  poor  rose  against  the  rich  under 
the  impression  that  their  food  had  been  poisoned,  and  when, 


THE  EMPEROR  NICHOLAS,  65 

with  the  natural  eloquence  with  which  he  was  gifted,  Nicholas 
persuaded  them  to  lay  aside  their  weapons,  and,  instead,  to 
implore  upon  their  knees  the  mercy  of  God. 

Conservative  in  all  his  views,  whilst  Nicholas  had  it  at 
heart  to  improve  the  commerce  of  his  country,  he  thought 
that  he  could  bring  it  about  without  external  influence.  He 
discouraged  all  his  subjects  from  travelling,  and  would  ex- 
press his  regret  that  a  barrier,  like  the  great  wall  of  China, 
did  not  separate  Russia  from  the  rest  of  Europe.  In  1848 
his  setting  himself  forth  as  the  champion  of  the  Christians  in 
Turkey  and  his  demand  from  the  Sultan  of  the  protectorate 
of  all  populations  professing  the  Greek  religion  was  regarded 
as  trying  to  enforce  that  they  should  all  henceforth  become 
subjects  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  The  Crimean  war  was 
the  result.  On  July  3,  1853,  the  Russian  army  entered  Mol- 
davia. War  was  begun  in  October,  and  the  fleets  of  France 
and  England  occupied  the  Black  Sea.  From  this  time 
Nicholas  never  had  a  day's  satisfaction  or  even  hope  ;  his 
army  was  not  ready,  .he  had  foreseen  nothing,  defeat  followed 
defeat,  and  he  died  broken-hearted,  on  March  2,  1855. 

Personally,  Nicholas  was  as  winning  in  manner  as  he 
was  noble  and  commanding  in  presence.  He  reigned  as 
much  over  hearts  as  over  actions. 

'  Un  tel  homme  ne  peut  etre  juge  d'apres  la  mesure  qu'on  applique 
aux  hommes  ordinaires.  Sa  voix  grave  et  pleine  d'autorite  ;  son  regard 
magnetique  et  fortement  appuye  sur  1'objet  qui  1'attire,  mais  rendu 
souvent  froid  et  fixe  par  1'habitude  de  reprimer  ses  passions  plus  encore 
que  de  dissiper  ses  pensees,  car  il  est  franc  ;  son  front  stiperbe,  ses 
traits  qui  •  tiennent  de  1'Apollon  et  du  Jupiter,  sa  physionomie  pen 
mobile,  imposante,  imperieuse,  sa  figure  plus  noble  que  douce,  plus 
monumentale  qu'humaine,  exerce  sur  quiconque  approche  de  sa  personne 
un  pouvoir  souverain.  II  devient  1'arbitre  des  volontes  d'autrui,  parce 
qu'on  voit  qu'il  est  maitre  de  sa  propre  volonte.' — M.  de  Custine. 


66  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  second  walk  which  strangers  will  take  in  S.  Peters- 
burg will  undoubtedly  be  along  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt,  where 
the  street  life  of  the  city  will  be  better  seen  than  anywhere 
else,  and  which  extends  for  a  distance  of  four  versts,  almost 
in  a  straight  line,  through  all  the  rings  of  the  town— the 
aristocratic  quarters,  the  commercial,  and  finally  the  suburbs 
of  the  poor.  In  happier  times  the  sovereigns  used  to  walk 
up  and  down  here,  and  mingle  with  the  crowd,  or  would 
drive  up  and  down  in  the  simplest  of  sledges  or  droskies 
priven  by  one  horse;  but,  in  these  days  of  Nihilism  and  con- 
spiracy, the  rude  '  Ukhoditzay '  ('  Be  off  with  you ')  of  the 
Russian  police  is  heard  oftener  here  than  anywhere  else. 

'  Gogol  warned  the  Russians  years  ago  not  to  trust  the  Nevskoi 
Prospekt  ;  "all  there,"  wrote  the  satirist,  "is  deceit,  artifice,  sc/iem." 
Nihilism  and  the  Nevskoi  are  so  associated  with  each  other  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  trottoir  or  a  building,  scarcely  a  corner  or  side-street,  of  this 
thoroughfare  which  has  not  made  its  separate  contribution  to  the 
history  of  Russian  conspiracy.' — '  Morning  Post,  "*  Feb.  5,  1884. 

'  The  superintendence  of  the  street-population  of  S.  Petersburg  is 
entrusted  to  a  class  of  men  called  butshniks,  a  name  for  which  they 
are'  indebted  to  the  butki,  or  boxes,  in  which  they  are  stationed  day  and 
night.  These  little  wooden  boxes  are  to  be  seen  at  every  corner,  and 
to  each  box  three  butshniks  are  assigned,  who  have  their  beds  there, 
their  kitchen,  and  a  complete  domestic  establishment.  One  of  them, 
wrapped  up  in  a  grey  cloak  faced  with  red,  and  armed  with  a  halbert, 
stands  sentinel  outside,  while  another  attends  to  the  culinary  depart- 
ment, and  a  third  holds  himself  ready  to  carry  orders,  or  to  convey  to 
the  stash,  or  police-office,  the  unfortunates  whom  his  comrade  may 
have  thought  it  his  duty  to  arrest.  Each  butshnik  has  a  small  whistle, 
by  means  of  which  he  conveys  a  signal  to  the  next  post,  if  a  fugitive  is 
to  be  given  chase  to.  The  quartalniks  are  a  superior  kind  of  police- 
officers,  and  these  and  the  police-masters  are  constantly  going  their 
rounds,  to  see  that  the  butshniks  are  not  neglectful  of  their  duty.  By 
these  means  excellent  order  is  always  maintained,  and  in  no  other 
capital  of  Europe  are  riotous  or  offensive  scenes  of  less  frequent  occur- 
rence.'— KohL 


THE  NEVSKOI  PROSPEKT.  67 

No  religion  is  more  tolerant  than  the  Greek.  A  few 
years  ago  S.  Petersburg  contained  191  Russian  churches, 
chapels,  and  convents,  six  Catholic  churches,  ten  Protestant 
churches,  two  Armenian  churches,  one  synagogue,  and  one 
mosque,  and  most  of  these  have  since  become  more 
numerous. 

'  In  the  Nevskoi  Prospekt  there  are  Armenian,  Greek,  Protestant, 
Roman  Catholic,  United  and  Disunited,  Sunnite  and  Sch'iite  places  of 
prayer  in  most  familiar  neighbourhood  ;  and  the  street  has,  therefore, 
not  inaptly  received  the  sobriquet  of  Toleration  Street. ' — -Kohl. 

As  we  walk  along  we  are  struck  by  the  number  of  men 
and  boys  amongst  the  pedestrians  ;  girls  are  seldom  seen 
in  the  streets  in  Russia,  women  never,  unless  they  have 
something  to  do.  In  the  end  of  the  street  nearest  to  the 
Admiralty,  smart  sledges  may  be  met  at  every  step  during 
the  season,  but  there  are  few  aristocratic  equipages  in  the 
summer,  when  all  the  nobility  are  away  in  the  country. 

'  The  huge  placards  and  colossal  letters,  by  which  the  tradesmen  of 
London  and  Paris  seek  to  attract  public  attention,  are  unknown  in 
S.  Petersburg.  The  reading  public  there  is  very  limited,  and  the 
merchant  who  wishes  to  recommend  himself  to  the  public  must  have 
recourse  to  a  less  lettered  process.  This  accounts  for  the  abundance  of 
pictorial  illustrations  that  decorate  so  many  of  the  shop-fronts,  or 
advertise  the  passenger  that  such  and  such  an  artist  may  be  found 
within.  The  optician  announces  his  calling  by  a  profuse  display  of 
spectacles  and  telescopes  ;  the  butcher  suspends  in  front  of  his  establish- 
ment a  couple  of  painted  oxen,  or  perhaps  a  portrait  of  himself,  in  the 
act  of  presenting  a  ruddy  joint  to  a  passing  dame.  These  signs,  that 
speak  only  the  mute  language  intelligible  to  a  Russian  multitude, 
relieve  in  some  measure  the  monotony  of  the  streets.  The  baker  is 
sure  to  have  a  board  over  his  door  with  a  representation  of  every  species 
of  roll  and  loaf  offered  for  sale  in  his  shop  ;  the  tallow-chandler  is 
equally  careful  to  suspend  the  portraits  of  all  his  varieties  of  longs  and 
shorts  destined  for  the  enlightenment  of  mankind.  The  musician,  the 

F  2 


68  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

pastrycook,  and,  in  short,  every  handicraftsman  to  whom  the  humbler 
classes  are  likely  to  apply,  have  adopted  the  same  plan,  and  from  the 
second  and  third  floors  huge  pictures  may  sometimes  be  seen  suspended, 
with  appalling  likenesses  of  fiddles,  flutes,  tarts,  sugar-plums,  sausages, 
smoked  hams,  coats,  caps,  shoes,  stockings,  &c.' 

\For  a  barber  the  customary  symbol  is  the  following  picture  : — 
A  lady  sits  fainting  in  a  chair.  Before  her  stands  the  man  of 
science  with  a  glittering  lancet  in  his  hand,  and  from  her  snow-white 
arm  a  purple  fountain  springs  into  the  air,  to  fall  afterwards  into  a 
basin  held  by  an  attendant  youth.  By  the  side  of  the  lady  sits  a 
phlegmatic  philosopher  undergoing  the  operation  of  shaving,  without 
manifesting  the  slightest  sympathy  for  the  fair  sufferer.  Around  the 
whole  is  a  kind  of  arabesque  border  composed  of  black  leeches  and 
instruments  for  drawing  teeth.  This  picture  is  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  every  large  Russian  town.  The  most  characteristic  of  these  signs 
appeared  to  me  that  of  a  midwife.  A  bed  with  the  curtains  closely 
drawn  announced  the  invisible  presence  of  the  acconchee,  and  in  front 
was  a  newly-arrived  stranger  in  the  lap  of  the  accoucheuse,  and  under- 
going, to  his  manifest  discomfort,  the  infliction  of  his  first  toilet.  Most 
of  these  pictures  are  very  tolerably  executed,  and  that  of  a  Parisian 
milliner  is  particularly  entitled  to  commendation  for  the  art  expended 
on  the  gauze  caps  and  the  lace  trimmings.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed 
that  the  merchant  is  content  with  displaying  only  one  or  two  of  the 
articles  in  which  he  deals  ;  no,  the  whole  shop  must  figure  on  the 
board,  and  not  only  the  dealer,  but  his  customers,  must  be  portrayed 
there.  The  coffee-shop  keeper  does  not  think  he  has  done  enough 
when  he  has  displayed  a  steaming  kettle  and  a  graceful  array  of  cups  ; 
he  must  have  a  whole  party  making  themselves  comfortable  over  their 
coffee  and  cigars,  and  crying  to  the  wavering  passenger,  "  Go  thou,  and 
do  likewise."  The  jeweller  must  have  not  only  rings  and  stars  and 
crosses,  but  he  must  have  generals  and  excellencies  as  large  as  life,  with 
their  breasts  blazing  with  orders,  and  at  least  three  fingers  on  each  hand 
laden  with  rings.  The  Russians  attach  great  importance  to  these  signs, 
and  a  stranger  may  obtain  from  them  some  knowledge  of  the  manners 
of  the  people.' — Kohl. 

There  are  fewer  booksellers  than  any  other  kind  of  shop, 
and  the  press  is  still  under  the  most  degrading  surveillance. 
What  the  Russians  think  of  authors  is  shown  in  Kriloff's 
fables  in  a  picture  representing  a  part  of  hell.  There  are 


THE  KAZAN  CATHEDRAL.  69 

two  caldrons  hanging  in  the  foreground  ;  in  one  sits  a 
robber,  in  the  other  a  wicked  author.  Under  the  caldron 
of  the  latter  the  devil  is  busily  employed  in  feeding  a  large 
fire  ;  while  under  the  robber's  kettle  there  is  only  a  little 
dry  wood,  which  seems  to  emit  a  very  agreeable  warmth. 
The  author,  who  has  lifted  the  lid  of  his  kettle  to  look  over 
at  the  thief,  complains  to  the  devil  that  he  is  worse  treated 
than  so  notorious  a  rogue  ;  but  the  devil  gives  him  a  knock 
on  the  head,  and  says,  '  Thou  wast  worse  than  he  ;  his  sins 
have  died  with  him,  but  thine  will  remain  indestructible  for 
ages.' 

After  crossing  the  Moika  canal,  a  semicircle  of  columns 
on  the  right — a  ludicrous  caricature  of  the  colonnade  of 
S.  Peter's  at  Rome — announces  the  Cathedral  of  our  Lady  of 
Kazan  (Kazanski  Sobor),  the  second  church  in  the  city,  which 
is  truly  comic  in  its  ambitious  imitation.  In  the  square  are 
Statues  of  the  Field-Marshals  Barclay  de  Tolly  and  Kutusof, 
by  the  Russian  sculptor  Boris  Orlofsky.  The  church  is  a 
memorial  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  I.,  and  was  consecrated 
in  1811,  having  been  'got  up  in  two  years.'  In  order  to 
respect  the  rule  of  the  Greek  Church  that  the  altar  should 
always  be  to  the  east,  the  main  entrance  is  at  a  corner  of 
the  transept.  The  effect  of  the  nave  is  handsome  from  its 
monolith  pillars  of  Finland  granite,  but  the  building  is 
chiefly  remarkable  as  a  pantheon  and  museum  of  national 
trophies — keys  of  German  and  French  towns,  batons  of 
French  marshals,  standards  of  French,  Turks,  and  Persians. 


'  The  Persian  flags  are  easily  known  by  a  silver  hand  as  large  as 
life  fastened  to  the  end.  The  Turkish  flags,  surmounted  by  the 
crescent,  are  merely  large,  handsome  unsoiled  pieces  of  cloth,  mostly 
red,  and  so  new  and  spotless  that  they  might  be  sold  again  to  the 


70  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

merchant  by  the  ell.  It  looks  as  if  both  Turks  and  Persians  had 
handed  over  their  flags  to  the  Russians  out  of  politeness,  and  without 
striking  a  blow.  The  French  colours,  which  hang  near  them,  offer  a  sad 
but  most  honourable  contrast.  They  are  rent  to  pieces,  and  to  many  of 
the  eagles  only  a  single  dusty  fragment  is  attached.  Of  some  the 
Russians  have  only  carried  off  the  flagstaff,  perhaps  because  the  French 
ensign  had  swallowed  the  last  rag,  that  it  might  not  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.  How  many  unknown  deeds  of  heroism  may  not  these 
flags  have  witnessed  !  Those  eagles  with  their  expanded  wings,  with 
which  they  vainly  sought  to  cover  the  whole  empire,  look  strangely 
enough  in  the  places  they  now  roost  in.' — KohL 

In  the  original  church  on  this  site  Catherine  II.  was 
crowned  (1762)  by  the  Archbishop  of  Novogorod,  during 
the  extraordinary  revolution  which  dethroned  Peter  JII. 
Hither  also  all  emperors  and  empresses  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  come  before  setting  out  upon  or  on  returning  from 
a  journey,  to  invoke  or  thank  '  Our  Lady  of  Kazan ' — a 
holy  picture  which  has  its  own  annual  fete-days.  When 
Alexander  I.  returned  from  his  campaign  against  the  great 
Napoleon,  his  first  visit  was  to  our  Lady  of  Kazan,  before 
whom  he  remained  long  in  prayer,  before  joining  his  wife 
and  mother  at  the  palace.1  It  was  also  before  the  Madonna 
of  Kazan  that  Kutusof  knelt  before  advancing  in  1812  ; 
whence  she  is  supposed  to  be  specially  connected  with  that 
campaign. 

We  now  reach  the  angle  of  the  Bazaar  or  Gostinnoi-dvor, 

1  '  It  is  usual  for  the  sovereign  whenever  he  comes  into  any  city,  especially  into 
the  capital,  to  proceed  directly  to  the  Sobor  or  Cathedral,  where  he  is  met  with  the 
a-yiacrju.a,  or  holy  water  (the  remembrance  of  the  dew  of  baptism),  and  welcomed  with 
a  short  speech  by  the  bishop  at  the  head  of  his  clergy ;  after  this  he  assists  at  a 
moleben,  or  short  office,  in  the  church,  and  returns  thanks  to  God  for  having 
brought  him  in  safety  to  the  place  where  he  is ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  last  thing 
before  setting  out  on  a  journey  he  goes  to  the  church  to  pray  God  to  prosper  him 
and  direct  his  way  ;  and  so  may  be  said,  in  his  "  goings  out  and  comings  in,"  to  set 
out  from  the  house  of  God  and  return  to  it  again,  according  to  that  which  is  written 
— "  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  direct  thy  path."  '—  Blackmore's 
Moura&itff. 


THE  BAZAAR.  71 

(literally  '  The  Stranger's  Court '),  the  front  of  which  extends 
for  an  immense  distance  along  the  Bolshai'a  Sadovaia,  or 
Great  Garden  Street.  It  is  a  labyrinth  of  narrow  alleys,  in 
which  above  ten  thousand  merchants  are  at  work.  Furs  are 
the  chief  article  of  national  trade,  but  the  icon  and  church- 
ornament  shops  are  very  curious,  and  the  incense  shops 
very  pleasant.  In  the  thieves'  quarter  charming  articles  of 
beautiful  old  silver  may  be  picked  up,  but  the  Innostranez, 
or  foreigner,  should  not  go  without  some  trusty  Russian 
companion,  for  '  Slava  Bogu  (God  be  thanked),  trade  always 
goes  on,'  and  the  stranger  will  not  only  be  outrageously 
cheated,  but  may  not  get  away  without  having  his  purse  cut 
out  of  his  pocket,  and  may  consider  himself  fortunate  if  the 
very  rings  are  not  stripped  off  his  fingers.  The  Russian 
cry  for  'Stop  thief!'  is  frequently  heard  in  the  streets.1  It 
is  a  fortunate  custom  which  renders  the  tables  of  the  money- 
changer always  safe  in  Russian  bazaars  :  from  these  no  thief 
would  ever  think  of  taking  even  a  single  kopeck.  In  the 
fables  of  Kriloff  the  conversation  of  two  Kupzi  betrays 
how  the  rogues  in  the  Gostinnoi-dvor  cheat  and  circumvent 
each  other.  '  See,  cousin,'  says  one,  *  how  God  has  helped 
me  to-day.  I  have  sold  for  three  hundred  roubles  some 
Polish  cloth  that  was  not  worth  half  the  money  ;  it  was  to 
an  idiot  of  an  officer,  whom  I  persuaded  that  it  was  fine 
Dutch.  See,  here  is  the  money — thirty  fine  red  banknotes, 
absolutely  new  !  '  '  Show  me  the  notes,  friend.  They  are 
every  one  of  them  bad  !  Out  upon  you,  fox  !  do  you  let 
yourself  be  cheated  by  a  wolf? ' 

1  An  English  chaplain  at  Cronstadt  recently  heard  this  cry,  and  saw  a  gigantic 
robber  hotly  pursued  running  towards  him.  Being  a  very  little  man,  and  knowing 
that  he  could  not  stop  him  by  force,  he  waited  till  he  was  close  by,  and  then  knelt  in 
the  road,  and  the  thief  tumbled  over  him. 


72  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Everything  may  be  bought  in  the  Bazaar.  The  poulterers' 
stalls  are  interesting  with  the  quantity  of  heathcocks 
(reptshiki},  and  white  partridges  (kuropatki)  in  their  season. 
White  hares,  reindeer,  elk,  and  bear's  flesh  may  also  be  seen. 

In  the  winter,  the  merchants  all  wear  wolfskin  coats 
over  their  caftans,  for  the  cold  in  the  bazaar  is  intense,  as 
no  fire  is  allowed  there,  nor  any  lights,  except  the  lamps 
before  the  icons,  which  are,  of  course,  too  holy  to  be  dan- 
gerous. Yet  all  through  the  severe  weather,  grey  squirrels 
frisk  in  their  cages,  and  singing  birds  warble  impervious  to 
the  frost,  though  they  seldom  have  any  water,  as  what  is 
given  immediately  becomes  ice — but  snow  is  placed  in  their 
troughs. 

The  handsome  square  which  we  next  pass,  on  the  right  of 
the  Nevskoi  Prospekt,  contains  a  fine  Statue  of  Catherine  II. , 
upon  which  the  Alexander  Theatre  and  the  Imperial  Public 
Library  look  down.  In  the  latter  is  preserved  the  library 
of  Voltaire,  purchased  at  his  death  by  Catherine  II.,  with 
whom  he  had  long  corresponded.  It  was  near  this  that  the 
terrible  punishment  of  the  Countess  Lapoukyn  took  place  for 
having  lightly  spoken  of  the  loves  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth. 

'  The  beautiful  culprit  mounted  the  scaffold  in  an  elegant  undress, 
whieh  increased  the  beauty  of  her  charms  and  the  interest  of  her  situa- 
tion. Distinguished  by  the  captivation  of  her  mind  and  person,  she 
had  been  the  idol  of  the  Court,  and  wherever  she  moved  she  was 
environed  by  admirers ;  she  was  now  surrounded  by  executioners, 
upon  whom  she  gazed  with  astonishment,  and  seemed  to  doubt  that  she 
was  the  object  of  such  cruel  preparations.  One  of  the  executioners 
pulled  off  a  cloak  which  covered  her  bosom,  at  which  her  modesty  took 
alarm,  she  started  back,  turned  pale,  and  burst  into  tears.  Her  clothes 
were  soon  stripped  off,  and  she  was  naked  to  the  waist,  before  the  eager 
eyes  of  an  immense  concourse  of  people  profoundly  silent.  One  of  the 
executioners  then  took  her  by  both  hands,  and  turning  half  round, 


THE  FONTANKA    CANAL.  73 

raised  her  a  little  from  the  ground  ;  upon  which  the  other  executioner 
laid  hold  of  her  delicate  limbs  with  his  rough  hands,  and  adjusted  her 
on  the  back  of  his  coadjutor.  He  then  retreated  a  few  steps,  and, 
leaping  backwards,  gave  a  stroke  with  his  whip,  so  as  to  carry  away  a 
strip  of  skin  from  the  neck  to  the  bottom  of  her  back  ;  then  striking  his 
feet  against  the  ground,  he  made  a  second  blow  parallel  to  the  former, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  all  the  skin  of  the  back  was  cut  away  in  small 
strips,  most  of  which  remained  hanging  to  her  chemise.  Her  tongue 
was  cut  out  immediately  after,  and  she  was  banished  to  Siberia.' — Carr, 
'•Northern  Summer ,  1805. 

The  Prospekt  now  passes  the  Annitshkoff  Palace,  where 
the  Emperor  Alexander  III.  resided  as  tsarevitch.  This 
palace  was  built  by  the  Empress  Elizabeth  and  given  to  her 
favourite,  Count  Rasumoffsky ;  it  was  bought  back  by 
Catherine  II.  and  given  to  her  favourite,  Potemkin.  Since 
then  it  has  been  used  as  a  kind  of  S.  James's,  where  the 
emperors  have  received  ambassadors  and  held  councils. 
Hence  the  Cabinet  of  S.  Petersburg  may  be  called  the 
Cabinet  of  Annitshkoff,  as  that  of  London  is  called  the  Cabinet 
of  S.  James's,  and  that  of  Paris  the  Cabinet  of  the  Tuileries. 

Now  we  cross  the  Fontanka  Canal  to  the  quays,  along 
the  bank  of  which  the  Russian  aristocracy  have  drifted  of 
late  years. 

*  The  Russian  aristocracy  have  been  banished  from  the  central  part 
of  the  town  by  the  invasion  of  industry  and  the  bustle  of  trade.  It  is 
in  the  Litanaia  and  along  the  sides  of  the  Fontanka  Canal,  and  particu- 
larly at  the  eastern  end  of  it,  that  the  most  fashionable  residences  will 
be  found.  It  is  there  that  one  may  see  the  palaces  of  the  KotshuUeys, 
the  Sheremetiefs,  the  Branitzkis,  the  Narishkins,  the  chancellors  of  the 
empire,  the  ministers,  the  grandees,  and  the  millionnaires,  on  ground 
where  a  century  ago  nothing  met  the  eye  but  a  few  huts  tenanted  by 
Ingrian  fishermen.  A  quiet  and  magnificent  street  has  since  arisen 
there,  and  the  Orloffs,  the  Dolgoroukis,  the  Stroganoffs,  &c.,  have, 
it  must  be  owned,  displayed  taste  and  judgment  in  their  choice  of  a 
quarter  wherein  to  erect  their  sumptuous  dwellings.  Their  palaces  are 


72  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

no  crowded  together  ;  on  the  contrary,  nearly  every  house  stands 
detached  from  its  neighbours,  with  a  handsome  space  in  front  for 
carriages  to  draw  up,  while  the  apartments  within  are  numerous  and 
spacious.  Suites  of  rooms  will  be  found  in  many  of  them  fitted  up 
as  conservatories  or  winter  gardens — a  species  of  luxury  in  which  the 
aristocracy  indulge  more  perhaps  in  S.  Petersburg  than  in  any  other 
city  in  the  world.' — Kohl. 

After  passing  the  Fontanka  bridge,  we  seldom  see  a 
shaven  chin,  the  beards  become  of  more  venerable  length, 
the  caftans  longer.  Ishvoshtniks  seldom  are  found  further 
than  this,  but  public  omnibuses  ply  through  the  whole 
length  of  the  street.  The  houses  become  smaller,  the  shops 
shabbier,  like  those  of  small  provincial  towns  in  Germany. 
Many  of  them  are  painted  in  yellow  and  red,  in  the  old 
Russian  fashion.  The  Nevskoi  Prospekt  now  gets  uglier 
and  meaner,  till  the  great  town  built  by  Peter  the  Great  and 
beautified  by  Catherine  II.  loses  itself  in  the  miseries  of 
nameless  hovels,  and  in  filthy  and  aimless  open  spaces. 
After  passing  the  Moscow  railway  station,  near  which  numbers 
of  noisy  Russian  peasants  are  singing  round  the  spirit  shops, 
the  Nevskoi  makes  a  sharp  bend,  and  we  enter  the  district 
of  wagoners  and  carpenters,  of  low  wooden  houses,  like 
those  of  the  country  villages,  and  thus  we  reach  the  Convent 
of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi,  where,  after  having  gone  through 
every  phase  of  Russian  life,  we  are  reminded  of  death  and 
solitude  by  a  convent  and  a  cemetery.  Hither  Peter  the 
Great  '  brought  the  sainted  Prince,  Alexander  of  the  Neva, 
to  rest  on  the  banks  of  the  river  which  had  been  illustrated 
by  his  exploits  centuries  before  its  great  destinies  were 
unfolded.'  L 

The  Russian  S.  Louis,  Alexander,  son  of  Yaroslaf  the 

1  See  Stanley's  Hist,  of  the  Eastern  Church. 


5.  ALEXANDER  NEVSKOL  75 

Prudent,  who  was  burn  in  1221,  repulsed  the  army  of  the 
Swedes  and  Teutonic  knights,  and  wounded  the  king  of 
Sweden  with  his  own  hand  on  the  banks  of  the  Neva,  whence 
he  obtained  the  name  of  Nevskoi.  But  even  more  important 
were  his  victories  over  the  Tartars,  which  delivered  his  native 
country  from  paying  tribute  to  them.  He  died  at  Gorodetz, 
November  10,  1263,  having  taken  the  monastic  habit  in  the 
close  of  his  life.  The  famous  metropolitan  Cyril  was  then 
residing  at  Vladimir,  and  when  he  heard  that  the  Great 
Prince  was  dead,  he  announced  it  by  exclaiming,  '  The  sun 
of  the  country  has  set  !  Alexander  is  dead,'  and  the  people, 
who  had  regarded  the  hero  of  the  Neva  as  indispensable  to 
the  prosperity  of  Russia,  cried  with  one  voice,  '  Then  we  are 
lost ! '  The  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  Vladimir  went  out  to 
meet  his  body,  which  they  buried  in  their  cathedral,  where 
it  remained  till  Peter  the  Great  brought  it  hither  to  conse- 
crate his  new  capital.  The  majestic  beauty,  the  Herculean 
strength,  the  unflinching  courage,  and  the  trumpet-like  voice 
of  Alexander  are  celebrated  by  contemporary  writers.  The 
Church  has  placed  him  amongst  the  tutelary  saints  of 
Russia,  and  for  centuries  he  was  considered  by  the  Russians 
as  a  new  celestial  protector,  to  whom  they  attributed  all  the 
fortunate  events  of  their  country.  His  magnificent  shrine 
in  this  church  is  of  silver,  and  upon  his  tomb  lie  the  keys — 
the  very  little  keys — of  Adrianople. 

The  gorgeous  church  is  full  of  magnificent  adornments. 

'  The  Nevskoi  cloister  has  profited  yet  more  by  the  presents  sent 
from  Persepolis  to  the  northern  Petropolis,  when  the  Russian  ambassa- 
dor Griboyedoff  was  murdered  in  Teheran,  than  by  the  Byzantine 
tribute.  The  Persian  gifts  consisted  of  a  long  train  of  rare  animals, 
Persian  webs,  gold-stuffs,  and  pearls.  They  reached  S.  Petersburg  in 
winter.  The  pearls  and  gold-stuffs  and  rich  shawls  were  carried  in 


76  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

great  silver  and  gold  dishes  by  magnificently-dressed  Persians.  The 
Persian  Prince  Khosreff  Mirza  drove  in  an  imperial  state-equipage 
with  six  horses  ;  the  elephants,  bearing  on  their  backs  towers  filled 
with  Indian  warriors,  had  leathern  boots  to  protect  them  from  the  cold, 
and  the  cages  of  the  lions  and  tigers  were  provided  with  double  skins  of 
the  northern  polar  bears.' — KohL 

Here  the  murdered  Peter  III.  was  buried  in  an  almost 
unknown  grave  during  the  reign  of  Catherine  II.  On 
her  death,  the  Emperor  Paul  caused  his  coffin  to  be  ex- 
amined, but  only  a  few  bones  were  found  within  and  the 
Emperor's  boots.  These  were  exposed  for  three  days,  and, 
as  Peter  had  never  been  either  crowned  or  consecrated, 
those  services  were  read  over  them  before  they  were  removed 
to  rest  with  Peter's  father  and  grandfather  in  the  Petro- 
paulovski  Cathedral.  Here  Peter's  grandson  Alexander  I. 
listened  to  his  own  funeral  service  before  setting  off  (1825) 
to  follow  his  wife  to  the  South,  whence  he  never  returned. 
In  the  crypt,  amongst  other  tombs,  is  that  of  Suvarof 
inscribed,  '  Here  lies  Suvarof,  celebrated  for  his  victories, 
epigrams,  and  practical  jokes.' 

'  C'etait  ce  Souvarof,  vrai  soldat  sarmate,  qui  ne  couchait  jamais 
dans  un  lit.  "  Je  hais  la  paresse,"  disait-il ;  "  j'ai  touj ours  sous  ma 
tente  un  coq  prompt  a  me  reveiller,  et  lorsque  je  veux  ceder  au  sommeil 
commodement,  j'ote  tin  des  eperons. " '— Fallonx,  '  Vie  de  Madame 
Swetchinc* 

In  the  vast  S.  Petersburg,  built  in  speculation  on  a  very 
distant  future,  every  visit  is  an  excursion.  Endless  are  the 
open  spaces,  unfinished,  infamously  paved,  edged  by  sheds, 
fringed  with  grass,  almost  populationless.  It  is  a  town  of 
sumptuous  distances,  but  all  the  streets  are  alike  :  there  is 
no  elegance  and  no  originality.  For  the  most  part  nothing 
can  exceed  the  meanness  of  even  the  handsomest  buildings, 


DISTANCES  IN  S.  PETERSBURG.  77 

the  copies  of  temples  being  mere  masses  of  plaster,  without 
even  a  hillock  for  base,  the  sculptures  coarse  copies  of 
antique  sphinxes  and  statues. 

'  Les  Russes  ne  sont  pas  encore  arrives  au  point  de  civilisation  oil 
Ton  peut  reellement  jouir  des  arts.  Jusqu'a  present  leur  enthousiasme 
en  ce  genre  est  pure  vanite  ;  c'est  une  prevention,  ainsi  que  leurs  pas- 
sions pour  1'architecture  grecque  et,  pour  le  fronton  et  la  colonne  clas- 
sique.  Que  ce  peuple  rentre  en  lui-meme,  qu'il  ecoute  son  genie 
primitif,  et,  s'il  a  re$u  du  ciel  le  sentiment  des  arts,  il  renoncera  aux 
copies  pour  produire  ce  que  Dieu  et  la  nature  attendent  de  lui.' — J7.  dc 
Ciistine. 

In  one  place  in  S.  Petersburg  there  are  three  houses, 
side  by  side,  to  pass  which  on  foot  will  take  a  man  a  good 
half-hour.1  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  pedestrian 
shouts  out  'Davai,  ishvoshtnik  !  '  to  the  first  of  the  17,000 
droskies,2  stands  of  which  are  to  be  met  with  everywhere,, 
with  drivers  in  caftans  down  to  their  feet,  who  look,  as 
Princess  DashkofT  says,  '  as  if  they  had  a  Turk  for  their 
father  and  a  Quaker  for  their  mother.'  A  crowd  of  droskies 
respond  to  the  call,  each  driver  settling  himself  as  if  certain 
of  being  the  one  selected.  *  Where  to,  little  father  ? '  'To  the 
fortress.'  *  I'll  take  you  for  a  rouble.'  '  I'll  take  you  for  half.' 
So  they  compete  for  several  minutes.  If  you  take  the 
cheapest,  a  general  jeer  arises.  '  Little  father,  little  father, 
what  an  absurd  bargain  you  have  made  !  Your  horse  is  lame  ; 
your  driver  is  drunk — is  a  fool — does  not  know  the  way.'  But 
no  one  enjoys  the  joke  more  than  the  successful  candidate 
himself,  who  gathers  up  his  reins,  and  drives  off  in  high 
good-humour.  A  foreigner  is  always  asked  five  times  the 

1  Kohl. 

2  In  'Butter  Week'— the  week  before  Lent — ali  the  country  droskies  are  also 
allowed  to  come  into  the  capital  and    ply  without  a  licence,  so  that  the  streets  are 
then  crowded. 


78  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

right  fare  by  a  drosky  driver  :  a  Russian,  only  double.  The 
best  way  is  to  turn  aside  and  walk  away  a  little.  You  are 
sure  to  be  pursued  with  '  Pajoust,  Batiuska '  ('  As  you  please, 
little  father');  when  you  may  safely  jump  in  and  trust 
yourself  to  be  whirled  away,  though  you  may  probably  be 
armed  with  no  more  useful  words  of  Russian  than  the  two 
necessary  ones  of  ' Poshol '  ('Go  on  '),  and  '  Stoi '  ('  Stop  '). 

'  The  ishvoshtniks  of  S.  Petersburg  lead  a  sort  of  nomadic  life  among 
the  palaces  of  the  capital.  They  encamp  by  day  in  the  streets,  and  so 
do  many  of  them  during  the  night,  their  sledge  serving  them  at  once  as 
house  and  bed.  Like  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  they  carry  the  oat-bag  con- 
stantly with  them,  and  fasten  it,  during  their  intervals  of  leisure,  to  the 
noses  of  their  steeds.  In  every  street  arrangements  have  been  made 
for  the  convenience  of  the  ishvoshtniks.  Every  here  and  there  mangers 
are  erected  for  their  use  ;  to  water  their  horses,  there  are  in  all  parts  of 
the  town  convenient  descents  to  the  canals  or  to  the  river  ;  and  hay  is 
sold  at  a  number  of  shops  in  small  bundles,  just  sufficient  for  one  or 
two  horses.  To  still  the  thirst  and  hunger  of  the  charioteers  themselves, 
there  are  peripatetic  dealers  in  quass,  tea,  and  bread,  who  are  constantly 
wandering  about  the  streets  to  feed  the  hungry.  The  animals  are  as  hardy 
as  their  masters.  Neither  care  for  cold  or  rain  ;  both  eat  as  opportunity 
serves,  and  are  content  to  take  their  sleep  when  it  comes.  Yet  they 
are  always  cheerful ;  the  horses  ever  ready  to  start  off  at  a  smart  trot  ; 
the  drivers  at  all  times  disposed  for  a  song,  a  joke,  or  a  gossip.  When 
they  are  neither  eating  nor  engaged  in  any  other  serious  occupation, 
they  lounge  about  their  sledges,  singing  some  simple  melody  that  they 
have  probably  brought  with  them  from  their  native  forests.  When 
several  of  them  happen  to  be  together  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  they 
are  sure  to  be  engaged  in  some  game  or  other,  pelting  with  snow- balls, 
wrestling,  or  bantering  each  other,  till  the  "  Davai,  ishvoshtnik  !  "  of 
some  chance  passenger  makes  them  all  grasp  their  whips  in  a  moment, 
and  converts  them  into  eager  competitors  for  the  expected  gain. 

'  The  Russian  coachman  seems  to  trust  more  to  the  persuasiveness 
of  his  own  eloquence  than  to  anything  else.  He  seldom  uses  his  whip, 
and  generally  only  knocks  with  it  upon  the  foot-board  of  his  sledge,  by 
way  of  a  gentle  admonition  to  his  steed,  with  whom  meanwhile  he 
keeps  up  a  running  colloquy,  seldom  giving  him  harder  words  than, 
"my  brother,"  "my  friend,"  "my  little  father,"  "my  sweetheart," 


THE   ISLANDS.  79 

"my  little  white  pigeon/'  £c.  "  Come,  my  pretty  pigeon,  make  use 
of  thy  legs,"  he  will  say.  "  What,  now  ?  art  thou  blind  ?  Come,  be 
quick  !  Take  care  of  that  stone  there.  Dost  thou  not  see  it  ?  There, 
that's  right.  Bravo  !  hop,  hop,  hop  !  steady,  boy,  steady  !  Now 
what  art  thou  turning  thy  head  for  ?  Look  boldly  before  thee  !  Huzza  ! 
Yukh  !  Yukh  !  "  '—Kohl. 


The  brightest  side  of  S.  Petersburg  is  to  be  seen  in  the  drive 
— the  favourite  drive — to  the  islands.  First  we  pass  along  the 
stone  quays  of  the  Neva,  the  handsomest  feature  in  this  city 
of  stucco  and  plaster,  and  observe  that  there  is  only  one 
stone  bridge,  for  the  new  capital  was  purposely  built  without 
bridges,  that  Peter  and  his  people  might  be  constantly  on 
the  water,  passing  and  repassing,  in  the  two-oared  ferry- 
boats which  were  designed  by  the  Tsar,  and  which  are  still 
in  use. 

'  On  pretend  avec  raison  qu'on  ne  peut,  a  Petersbourg,  dire  d'une 
femme  qu'elle  est  vieille  comme  les  rues,  tant  les  rues  elles-memes  sont 
modernes.  Les  edifices  sont  encore  d'une  blancheur  eblouissante,  et 
la  nuit,  quand  la  lune  les  eclaire,  on  croit  voir  de  grands  fantomes  blancs 
qui  regardent,  immobiles,  le  cours  de  la  Neva.  Je  ne  sais  ce  qu'il  y  a 
de  particulierement  beau  clans  ce  fleuve,  mais  jamais  les  flots  d'aucune 
riviere  ne  m'ont  paru  si  limpides.  Des  quais  de  granit  de  trente 
verstes  de  long  bordent  ses  ondes,  et  cette  magnificence  de  travail  d 
Phomme  est  digne  de  1'eau  transparente  qu'elle  decore. '  -  Madame  d 
Stall. 

Many  of  the  houses  which  line  the  quays  are  of  great 
size,  which  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  in  some  of 
the  palaces  of  the  nobles  one  hundred  and  twenty  servants 
are  not  thought  superfluous.  But  Russian  servants  are 
terribly  lazy,  and  every  servant  has  only  one  avocation,  as 
in  India  :  they  refuse  to  mix  their  service. 


8o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  reception  rooms  are  usually  of  great  magnificence. 
At  the  end  of  most  suites  of  them  is  a  boudoir  with  a  grille 
of  ivy  (which  will  not  bear  the  Russian  winter,  but  is  much 
used  in  the  internal  decoration  of  houses)  or  flowering  plants 
in  front  of  it,  only  large  enough  to  receive  two  or  three 
persons  at  a  time,  possessing  t an  air  of  intimacy  and  seclu- 
sion. Artificial  flowers  are  often  planted,  to  give  a  festal 
aspect,  in  the  sand  which  is  placed  to  absorb  the  damp 
between  the  double  windows.  The  hospitality  of  the  great 
Russian  families  is  proverbial,  and  their  kind  reception  of 
strangers.  In  winter  the  *  society '  is  perhaps  gayer  than 
that  of  any  other  capital. 


'  C'est  un  tourbillon  continual  que  la  bonne  compagnie  en  Russie, 
et  peut-etre  que  1'extreme  prudence  a  laquelle  un  gouvernment  des- 
potique  accoutume,  fait  que  les  Russes  sont  charmes  de  n'etre  point 
exposes,  par  1'entrainement  de  la  conversation,  a  parler  sur  des  sujets 
qui  puissent  avoir  une  consequence  quelconque.' — Madame  de  StaeL 


It  is  rather  the  love  of  ostentation  than  wealth  which 
influences  the  display  of  the  great  Russian  families,  but  the 
same  pride  of  life  exists  far  beyond  the  highest  circles,  and 
in  many  houses  of  an  inferior  rank,  with  great  outward 
appearance,  there  is  often  a  want  of  what  to  English  minds 
would  be  necessary  comfort.  The  bedrooms  are  very 
inferior,  and  in  many  houses,  whose  inmates  sacrifice  their 
comfort  to  outward  effect,  they  do  not  exist  at  all.  All  the 
rooms  are  used  for  show  ;  the  mistress  of  the  house  has  an 
improvised  sleeping-place  upon  a  sofa,  and  the  servants 
rest  where  they  can  upon  the  floors  of  the  passages.  The 
horrors  of  a  Russian  kitchen  are  often  such  as  may  be 
imagined—  not  described. 


VASSILI  O STROP.  81 

'  L'interieur  des  habitations  est  triste,  parce  que,  malgre  la  magnifi- 
cence de  1'ameublement  entasse  a  1'anglaise  dans  certaines  pieces  des- 
tinees  a  recevoir  du  monde,  on  entrevoit  dans  1'ombre  une  salete 
domestique,  un  desordre  naturel  et  profond  qui  rappelle  1'Asie. 

'  Le  meuble  dont  on  use  le  moins  dans  une  maison  russe,  c'est  le  lit. 
Des  femmes  de  service  couchent  dans  des  soupentes,  pareilles  a  celles 
des  anciennes  loges  de  portiers  en  France,  tandis  que  les  hommes  se 
roulent  sur  1'escalier,  dans  les  vestibules,  et  meme,  dit-on,  dans  le 
salon  sur  les  coussins  qu'ils  jettent  a  terre  pour  la  nuit.' — M.  de  Custine. 

It  is  not  only  the  houses  of  the  nobility  which  are  gigantic 
in  size  ;  there  are  many  of  these  huge  dwellings  on  the  dif- 
ferent floors  of  which  every  class  and  subdivision  of  society 
has  its  representatives. 

'  When  such  a  house  is  burnt  down,  two  hundred  families  at  once 
become  roofless.  To  seek  anyone  in  such  a  house  is  a  real  trial  of 
patience.  Ask  the  butshnik  (the  policeman  at  the  corner  of  the  street), 
and  he  will  tell  you  that  his  knowledge  extends  only  to  one  side  of  the 
house,  but  that  the  names  of  those  who  live  in  the  other  half  are 
unknown  to  him.  There  are  so  many  holes  and  corners  in  such  a 
houso,  that  even  those  who  live  in  it  are  unable  to  tell  you  the  names 
of  all  the  inmates  ;  and  no  man  thinks  another  his  neighbour  merely 
because  they  happen  to  live  under  the  same  roof.  Many  of  these 
houses  look  unpretending  enough  when  seen  from  the  street,  to  which 
they  always  turn  their  smallest  side  ;  but  enter  the  podyasde  or  gateway, 
and  you  are  astonished  at  the  succession  of  side-buildings  and  back- 
buildings,  of  passages  and  courts,  some  of  the  latter  large  enough  to 
review  a  regiment  of  cavalry  in  them. ' — Kohl. 

We  cross  the  bridge  into  Vassili  Ostrof  (Basil  Island),  the 
largest  of  the  islands  in  the  Neva,  and  the  commercial 
centre  of  the  town.  As  a  prelude  to  Cronstadt,  Peter  the 
Great,  when  founding  S.  Petersburg,  had  erected  a  battery 
on  a  nearer  island,  commanded  by  Vassili  Demetrievitch. 
The  orders  to  this  officer  were  directed  to  Vassili  na  Ostrof— 
Basil  on  the  Island — and  the  name  has  clung  to  the  island 

G 


82  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

ever  since.  Peter  the  Great  intended  Vassili  Ostrof  to  be 
the  centre  of  his  new  capital,  but  the  court  was  afterwards 
moved  hence  to  the  Admiralty  quarter,  and  Basil  Island  is 
now  for  the  most  part  covered  with  warehouses,  though  it 
has  some  handsome  buildings.  On  the  public  buildings 
classical  decorations  are  universal. 

'  La  colonne  classique  est  devenue  le  cachet  de  1'edifice  public  en 
Russia.' 

'  A  defaut  du  sentiment  de  1'art  et  des  libres  creations  de  la  fantaisie 
s'exer9ant  sur  les  donnees  populaires  qu'elles  represented,  une  justesse 
de  coup  d'ceil  mathematique  a  preside  a  la  creation  de  Petersbourg. 
Ainsi  ne  peut-on  oublier  un  instant,  en  parcourant  cette  patrie  des 
monuments  sans  genie,  que  c'est  une  ville  nee  d'un  homme  et  non  d'un 
peuple.  Les  conceptions  y  paraissent  etroites,  quoique  les  dimensions 
y  soient  enormes.  C'est  que  tout  peut  se  commander,  hors  la  grace, 
soeur  de  1'imagination.' — M.  de  Custine. 

On  the  extreme  eastern  point  of  the  island  is  the 
Exchange,  with  grand  granite  quays  on  either  side. 

'  The  narrow  un-ideal  nature  of  the  Russian  cannot  free  itself  from 
its  false  estimation  of  the  value  of  money,  nor  rise  to  an  elevated 
view  of  the  wants  and  nature  of  the  times.  Money  is  not,  in  his 
eyes,  an  instrument  for  the  increase  of  credit  and  extension  of  the 
sphere  of  operation  ;  the  shining  metal  itself  is  the  one  and  only  object ; 
he  can  rarely  prevail  on  himself  to  part  with  the  money  once  clutched, 
or  incur  voluntarily  a  small  loss  to  ward  off  a  greater.  In  spite,  how- 
ever, of  their  false  commercial  system,  the  great  mass  of  the  worshippers 
in  the  temple  of  the  Russian  Plutus  are  wealthy  ;  and,  with  all  their 
fondness  for  money,  no  people  bear  commercial  losses  as  easily  as  the 
Russians.  This  seeming  contradiction  is  partly  to  be  explained  by  the 
light  temperament  of  the  Russian,  and  partly  by  the  fact  that  no  Russian 
merchant  considers  his  honour  as  a  merchant,  or  his  credit  as  a  citizen, 
at  all  affected  by  his  failure,  simply  because  such  things  have  no  exist- 
ence for  him.  "  Bays'nim  "  ("  God  be  with  it  "),  he  says  to  his  faithless 
treasure,  and  begins  anew  the  erection  of  his  card  edifice.' — Kohl. 

After  crossing  Vassili  Ostrof,  we  reach  the  five  north- 


THE  ISLANDS.  83 

western  isles  of  the  Neva,  separated  by  the  arms  of  the 
greater  and  lesser  Nevka  and  the  Neva.  These  are  the 
islands—'  the  Garden  Islands,'  Krestovsky  (the  Cross  Island), 
Kammenoi  Ostrof  (the  Stone  I.sland),  Petrofskoi  Ostrof 
(Peter's  Island),  Yelaginskoi  Ostrof  (Yelagin  Island),  and 
ihe  Apothecary  Island.  When  people  say  *  Let  us  go  to  the 
Islands,'  it  is  always  these  that  they  mean.  These  islands 
represent  the  country,  and  are  the  parks  of  S.  Petersburg. 
'  Nature,  odious  nature,'  says  M.  de  Custine,  *  is  conquered 
here.'  An  endless  variety  of  drives  wind  through  shady 
alleys  in  primaeval  woods,  partly  cleared,  but  partly  untouched, 
and  cross  green  meadows  and  rushing  brooks,  or  skirt  trans- 
parent lakes,  or  broad  reaches  of  the  Neva  ;  with  mosque- 
like  buildings  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  framed  by 
twisted  willow-boughs.  Interspersed  amongst  the  trees  are 
the  pleasant  Datchas— literally  'gifts' — villas  originating  in 
the  gifts  made  by  Catherine  II.  to  her  favourites,  that  they 
might  lay  out  gardens.  Kammenoi  Ostrof,  the  chief  residence 
of  the  wealthier  classes,  presents  every  variety  of  villa-archi- 
tecture—Gothic, Italian,  Saracenic. 

'  Ce  n'est  pas  la  fecondite  primitive  du  sol  qui  orne  et  varie  les  habi- 
tations de  luxe  a  Petersbourg  :  c'est  la  civilisation  qui  met  a  profit  les 
richesses  du  monde  entier,  afin  de  deguiser  la  pauvrete  de  la  terre  et 
1'avarice  du  ciel  polaire.  Ne  vous  etonnez  done  plus  des  vanteries  des 
Russes  :  la  nature  n'est  pour  eux  qu'un  ennemi  de  plus,  vaincu  par  leur 
opiniatrete  ;  au  fond  de  tous  leurs  divertissements,  il  y  a  la  joie  et  1'orgueil 
du  triomphe.' — M.  de  Custine. 

The  furthest  island — Yelagin  Island— was  first  given  to 
a  Melgunoff,  then  to  a  Yelagin,  and  now  belongs  to  the 
imperial  family.  It  was  presented  by  Nicholas  to  the  widow 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander  I.,  by  whom  it  was  left  to  the 

G  2 


84  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Grand-Duke  Michael  and  his  descendants.  The  island  is 
partly  covered  by  the  gardens  of  the  villa — a  sort  of  im- 
perial Tivoli.1  'Society'  drives  here  as  far  as  'the  Point,' 
with  a  fine  view  towards  the  open  sea,  which,  in  a  south- 
west gale,  is  blown  furiously  over  the  island  and  covers 
everything  but  the  raised  footpaths.  The  best  equipages  in 
S.  Petersburg  may  be  seen  in  the  drives  on  the  islands, 
and,  though  less  pretentious,  they  are  greatly  improved 
since  the  end  of  the  last  century,  when  every  gentleman 
entitled  by  rank  rather  than  fortune  to  have  six  horses  was 
obliged  to  be  drawn  by  them,  but  no  regard  was  paid  to 
quality,  size,  or  colour.2 

The  lower  orders  are  almost  all  clothed  in  the  national 
sheepskins.  Peter  the  Great  and  Catherine  II.  vainly  tried 
to  force  the  German  dress  upon  their  subjects,  though,  in 
their  reigns,  with  the  exception  of  the  clergy,  no  one  could 
obtain  place  or  favour  unless  they  banished  their  Asiatic 
robes,  and  even  the  worn-out  veteran  only  received  his  pen- 
sion, upon  terms  of  never  again  assuming  the  dress  of  his 
fathers. 

The  many  cafes  and  restaurants  upon  the  islands  are 
much  frequented  by  summer  pleasure-seekers,  but  the  chill 
during  August  evenings  shows  that  the  brief  summer  is 
already  waning. 

'  Aux  iles,  toutes  les  maisons  et  tous  les  chemins  se  ressemblent. 
Dans  cette  promenade  1'etranger  erre  sans  ennui,  du  moins  le  premier 
jour.  L'ombre  du  bouleau  est  transparente  ;  mais  sous  le  soleil  du 
nord  on  ne  cherche  pas  une  feuillee  bien  epaisse.  Un  canal  succede  a 
un  lac,  une  prairie  a  un  bosquet,  une  cabane  a  une  villa,  une  allee  a  une 
allee,  au  bout  de  laquelle  vous  retrouvez  des  sites  tout  pareils  a  ceux  que 

1  Custine  "  See  Svvinton's  Travels,  1792 


THE  ISLANDS.  85 

vous  venez  de  laisser  derriere  vous.  Ces  tableaux  reveurs  captivent 
I'imagination  sans  1'interesser  vivement,  sans  piquer  la  curiosite  :  c'est 
du  repos.' — M.  de  Cttstine. 

We  returned  from  the  islands  under  one  of  those  '  pale 
green  skies '  of  evening  described  by  Pouchkine,1  which 
before  we  reached  the  town  had  become  a  black-blue 
canopy  with  the  shooting  stars  believed  by  Russians  to  be 
angels  descending  to  fetch  human  souls.  In  Russia,  each 


THE    FORTRESS,    S.    PETERSBURG. 


child  has  its  especial  star,  which  is  believed  to  appear  at  its 
birth  and  to  vanish  at  its  death.  In  this  night-drive  we  saw 
the  Dvorniks  (at  once  servants,  watchmen,  and  police-agents) 
lying  curled  up  like  dogs  before  the  doors  of  the  different 
villas.  Thus  they  sleep,  even  through  the  snow  of  winter, 
with  marvellous  resistance  of  cold. 

In   returning   from   the   islands  it  is  easy  to  visit   the 


'  Under  a  sky  of  pale  green — 
Weariness,  cold  and  granite.' 

Pouchkine's  Works,  ed.  1859,  l-  377- 


86  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Fortress  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Neva,  enclosing  the 
Cathedral  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  (Petropaulovski  Sobor), 
which  is  like  an  historical  sequel  to  the  famous  Cathedral  of 
S.  Michael  in  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow,  being  the  burial- 
place  of  the  latter  sovereigns  of  the  house  of  Romanoff. 

'  The  pointed  slender  tower  rises  like  a  mast  340  feet  in  height  ; 
for  the  last  150  feet  the  tower  is  so  small  and  thin,  that  it  must  be 
climbed  like  a  pine-tree.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  metal  angel  at 
the  top  needed  some  repairs,  an  adventurous  workman  reached  the 
summit  thus  ^  from  the  last  gallery  of  the  tower  he  knocked  in  a  hook 
as  high  as  he  could  reach  from  a  ladder,  threw  a  rope  over  it,  and 
dragged  himself  up  by  it ;  he  then  knocked  in  a  second  hook,  which  he 
also  mounted  by  means  of  his  rope,  and  so  reached  the  top.  On  the 
gilding  of  this  slender  tower,  which  is  seen  from  all  parts  of  S.  Peters- 
burg like  a  golden  needle  hovering  in  the  air,  particularly  when,  as  is 
frequently  the  case,  the  lower  part  is  veiled  in  fog,  10,000  ducats  have 
already  been  lavished.' — Kohl. 

The  church  is  always  open,  but  is  watched  over  by  a 
number  of  military  guardians.  It  is  heavily  and  gorgeously 
gilt  within,  and  has  no  seats  anywhere,  after  the  fashion  of 
Russian  churches.  Splendid  pictures  covered  with  gold 
and  precious  stones  gleam  upon  the  walls,  and  all  around, 
half  concealed  by  groves  of  living  palms,  or  by  ivy  upon 
trellis-work,  are  the  tombs  of  the  '  Romanoffs.  They  are 
all  alike,  simple  stately  sarcophagi  of  white  marble,  with 
gold  ornaments.  The  tombs  begin  on  the  right  of  the  altar, 
with  the  immediate  family  of  Peter  the  Great — persons  who 
bore  so  great  an  influence  upon  their  age,  and  who  so 
totally  changed  the  character  of  the  great  Russian  empire, 
that  it  is  impossible  not  to  pause  beside  their  monuments, 
while  regretting  that  the  tenets  of  the  Greek  religion  forbid 
sculpture  upon  them. 


TOMB   OF  PETER   THE   GREAT.  87 

First,  near  the  south  door  is  the  tomb  of  Peter  the  Great, 
who  died  February  9,  1725,  after  a  life  which  redeemed  the 
cruelties  of  a  tyrant  by  the  virtues  of  a  legislator.  His 
body  remained  on  a  catafalque  under  a  canopy  in  the  centre 
of  the  nave  till  June  i,  1731,  in  the  reign  of  the  Empress 
Anne,  when  it  was  buried.  If  a  newly-born  child  appears 
delicate,  the  Russians  have  it  measured  by  the  nearest  pope 
or  priest,  and  a  picture  of  it  and  its  two  guardian-angels 
painted,  which  must  be  of  exactly  the  same  size  as  the 
child  ;  this  picture,  called  the  Obraz,  is  supposed  to  exercise 
a  salutary  influence,  and  is  carefully  preserved  through  life. 
Three  days  after  the  birth  of  Peter,  Simeon  Ushakof,  the 
most  skilful  native  artist  of  the  day,  was  employed  to  decorate 
a  measure  taken  by  the  pope — a  board  of  cypress  nineteen 
and  a  quarter  inches  long,  and  five  and  a  quarter  broad — 
with  a  representation  of  the  Holy  Trinity  and  the  apostle 
Peter.  Ushakof  died  before  he  had  finished  his  work, 
which  was  finislied  by  the  hand  of  one  Theodore  Kosldf. 
This  curious  '  birth-measure '  of  the  great  Peter  still  hangs 
near  his  tomb. 

Count  Stackelberg  described  Peter  the  Great,  whom  he 
had  known  personally,  as  six  feet  high,  strong  and  well 
made,  with  his  head  slouching  and  awry,  of  a  dark  com- 
plexion, and  a  countenance  continually  subject  to  distortions. 
He  was  generally  dressed  in  his  green  uniform  or  a  plain 
brown  coat,  was  remarkable  for  the  fineness  of  his  linen, 
and  wore  his  short  black  hair  without  powder.  Externally, 
Russia  owed  to  him  the  being  raised  from  a  third-rate  power 
to  a  political  equality  with  Western  Europe,  and  having 
her  embassies  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  those  of 
other  countries.  Internally,  it  owed  to  him  six  new  provinces, 


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TOMB   OF  CATHERINE   I.  89 

its  fleet,  admiralty,  naval  academy,  schools,  public  library, 
picture-gallery,  manufactures,  the  reform  of  its  finances,  the 
emancipation  of  its  women  :  in  a  word,  its  earliest  civilisation. 
One  of  the  songs  of  the  people,  in  use  after  the  death 
of  Peter  the  Great,  ends  in  a  touching  allusion  to  the  tie  of 
military  brotherhood  between  the  Tsar  and  his  soldiers,  and 
to  the  modest  rank  of  captain  of  the  bombardiers  with 
which  he  was  satisfied  till  the  taking  of  Azof. 

'  In  our  holy  Russia,  in  the  glorious  town  of  Piter,  in  the  cathedral 
of  Peter  and  Paul,  on  the  right  side,  by  the  tombs  of  the  Tsars,  a  young 
soldier  was  on  duty. 

'  Standing  there,  he  thought,  and,  thinking,  he  began  to  weep.  He 
wept  :  it  was  a  river  which  flowed  ;  he  sobbed  :  it  was  the  throb  of 
waves. 

'  Bathed  in  tears,  he  cried — "  Alas  !  our  mother,  the  wet  land, 
open  on  every  side.  Open,  ye  bands  of  coffins  !  open,  ye  golden  cover- 
lets !  and  thou,  O  orthodox  Tsar,  do  thou  awake,  do  thou  arise  ! 
Look,  master,  on  thy  guard,  contemplate  all  thine  army  ;  see  how  the 
regiments  are  disciplined  ;  how  the  colonels  are  with  the  regiments, 
and  all  the  majors  with  their  horses,  the  captains  at  the  head  of  their 
companies,  the  officers  leading  their  divisions,  the  ensigns  supporting 
the  standards.  They  wait  for  their  colonel — for  the  colonel  of  the 
regiment  Preobrajenski— for  the  captain  of  the  bombardiers."  ' 

Close  to  the  tomb  of  Peter  is  that  of  his  beloved  Katinka, 
the  Empress  Catherine  /.,  his  second  wife. 

Catherine  was  born  in  the  village  of  Ringen,  near  Dorpat, 
and  was  probably  the  natural  daughter  of  a  Lithuanian 
peasant  named  Samuel  Skavronsky.  The  little  Martha  (as 
she  was  called  till  her  Greek  baptism),  being  left  destitute 
and  an  orphan,  was  taken  into  the  house  of  Pastor  Gluck  at 
Marienburg,  where  she  was  nursery-maid  to  his  children 
and  made  herself  generally  useful.  Whilst  here  she  became 
engaged  to  a  Swedish  dragoon,  but,  before  their  marriage, 


90  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

he  was  summoned  to  join  his  company  at  Riga,  and  he  was 
killed  in  battle  in  1705.  On  the  capture  of  Marienburg  by 
Sheremetieff,  Gluck  and  his  family  were  sent  to  Moscow, 
but  General  Bauer,  seeing  the  beautiful  Catherine  amongst 
the  prisoners,  took  her  into  his  house.  Hence  she  passed 
to  the  protection  of  Prince  Mentchikoff,  till  1704,  when  she 
became  the  mistress  of  Peter  the  Great.  She  was  then 
seventeen  and  very  pretty  ;  she  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
but  had  been  otherwise  well  taught  by  Gluck  and  was  very 
merry  and  intelligent.  She  had  several  children  by  the 
Tsar  before  they  were  married  at  Warsaw  in  1711.  Her 
attention  and  liveliness  gave  her  complete  ascendency  over 
the  melancholy  and  morose  Peter.  In  his  semi-madness 
the  fascination  of  her  voice  at  once  soothed  and  tamed  him, 
and  she  became  the  indispensable  companion  of  his  journeys 
and  campaigns.  She  acquired  great  popularity  by  prevailing 
upon  Peter  to  consent  to  the  Peace  of  Pruth,  and  her  courage 
on  this  occasion  was  made  a  reason  for  her  coronation  in 
1724.  A  short  time  before  the  death  of  the  Tsar,  he  ima- 
gined that  he  had  discovered  an  intrigue  between  Catherine 
and  her  first  chamberlain  Mons.  The  chamberlain  and 
his  sister  were  arrested  on  an  accusation  of  receiving 
bribes  ;  he  was  beheaded  and  she  knouted  and  banished  to 
Siberia.  On  the  next  day  Peter  took  Catherine  in  an  open 
carriage  under  the  gallows  upon  which  the  head  of  Mons 
was  fixed.  Without  changing  colour  in  the  least,  she  merely 
said,  *  What  a  pity  it  is  that  there  is  so  much  corruption 
amongst  courtiers  ! '  and  her  reputation  was  saved.  Soon 
after,  Peter  died,  having  put  off  the  appointment  of  his  suc- 
cessor, and  being  in  such  dreadful  tortures  upon  his  death- 
bed that  he  was  unable  to  attend  to  it.  But,  whilst  he  was 


TOMB   OF  ELIZABETH.  91 

dying,  Prince  Mentchikoff  seized  the  treasure,  secured  the 
fortress,  gained  over  the  clergy,  and,  by  bribing  right  and 
left,  obtained  the  succession  of  Catherine  in  right  of  her 
coronation.  This  gave  Mentchikoff  such  an  influence 
during  her  reign  that  he  may  be  considered  the  real  ruler 
of  Russia  at  that  time,  the  Empress  chiefly  passing  her  time 
in  idleness  and  intemperance,  which  caused  her  death  (1727), 
in  her  thirty-ninth  year,  after  a  reign  of  only  two  years. 
To  the  last,  she  could  never  read  or  write,  and  her  daughter 
Elizabeth  always  signed  her  name  for  her,  but  she  was 
always  free  from  affectation,  and  bore  her  elevation  to  the 
throne  with  simplicity  and  dignity. 

'  She  was  a  very  pretty  well-lookt  woman,  of  good  sense,  but  not 
of  that  sublimity  of  wit,  or  rather  that  quickness  of  imagination,  which 
some  people  have  believed.  The  great  reason  why  the  Tsar  was  so 
fond  of  her,  was  her  exceeding  good  temper  :  she  never  was  seen 
peevish  or  out  of  humour  ;  obliging  and  civil  to  all,  and  never  forgetful 
of  her  former  condition  ;  withal ;  mighty  grateful.' — Gordon. 

Close  to  Catherine  rests  her  handsome  and  amorous 
daughter  Elizabeth,  who  succeeded  the  Empress  Anne  upon 
the  deposition  from  brief  power  of  the  Regent  Anne, 
Duchess  of  Courland  (daughter  of  the  Empress  Anne's  elder 
sister  Catherine),  and  her  child,  who  had  been  proclaimed 
as  Ivan  VI.  Elizabeth  imprisoned  her  unfortunate  rivals  for 
life,  but  otherwise  had  the  reputation  of  a  humane  princess, 
except  when  her  subjects  commented  too  freely  upon  her 
amours,  for  which  crime  the  Countesses  Lapoukyn  and  Bes- 
tuchef  each  received  fifty  strokes  of  the  knout  in  the  open 
square  of  S.  Petersburg,  had  their  tongues  cut  out,  and  were 
banished  to  Siberia.  The  Empress  Elizabeth,  who  never 
married,  did  much  for  the  embellishment  of  S.  Petersburg. 


92  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

She  died  1761,  aged  fifty-three,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-one 
years. 

Immediately  behind  rests  the  Empress  Anne  (Duchess 
of  Courland),  daughter  of  Ivan  V.,  elder  brother  of  Peter 
the  Great.  Upon  the  death  of  Peter's  grandson,  Peter  II., 
she  was  elected  rather  than  the  son  of  Anne  of  Holstein, 
daughter  of  Peter  the  Great,  because  the  nobles  thought  she 
would  more  readily  agree  to  their  plan  for  limiting  the 
power  of  the  crown  and  reserving  the  chief  authority  to 
themselves.  She  obtained  the  throne  at  Mitau  by  signing 
their  articles  at  once,  but  revoked  her  signature  as  soon  as 
she  reached  Moscow,  saying  that  she  had  been  deceived 
into  believing  that  they  were  the  will  of  the  whole  nation. 
She  was  always  governed  by  her  lover  Biren,  whose  cruelties 
tarnished  her  reign,  though  she  often  interceded  for  his 
victims.  She  died  in  October  1740,  having  nominated  her 
great-nephew,  grandson  of  her  elder  sister  Catherine,  her 
successor,  as  Ivan  VI. 

On  a  line  with  Anne  are  the  sarcophagi  of  Peter  III. 
and  the  great  Catherine  II. 

The  weak  and  depraved  Peter  III.  was  the  son  of  Anne, 
Duchess  of  Holstein-Gottorp,  eldest  daughter  of  Peter  the 
Great  and  Catherine  I.  He  succeeded  his  aunt,  the 
Empress  Elizabeth,  in  1762,  and  in  the  same  year  was 
driven  from  the  throne  in  a  revolution  headed  by  his  wife, 
and  a  few  days  after  was  murdered  at  the  solitary  palace 
of  Ropscha.  At  first  he  was  buried  in  the  church  of 
S.  Alexander  Nevskoi,  but,  on  his  wife's  death,  their  son 
Paul  had  his  remains  taken  up,  and  laid  in  state  by  his 
mother  in  the  palace.  Only  one  person,  an  archbishop, 
knew  the  secret  spot  where  his  bones  rested,  unmarked  by 


TOMB   OF   CATHERINE  II.  93 

monument  or  inscription.  Count  Alexis  Orlof  and  Count 
Bariatinski,  the  reputed  murderers  of  Paul,  were  summoned, 
and  forced  to  stand  on  each  side  of  his  corpse  as  it  lay  in 
state,  and  to  walk  behind  it  when  it  was  carried  to  its  new 
grave.  Orlof  was  perfectly  composed,  but  Bariatinsky  fainted 
repeatedly.  The  bodies  of  Paul  and  Catherine  were  drawn 
by  horses  upon  low  carriages,  and  behind,  with  hands  folded, 
pale  as  death,  walked  Orlof,  next  the  Emperor,  who  mani- 
fested by  this  sublime  though  mysterious  sacrifice  to  the 
Manes  of  his  father,  a  feeling  worthy  of  a  greater  character. l 
Immediately  afterwards  the  murderers  were  banished. 

Catherine  II.  was  the  Princess  Sophia  Augusta  of  Anhalt- 
Zerbst,  who  took  the  name  of  Catherine  upon  her  Greek 
baptism.  In  1744  she  married  Peter,  nephew  of  the 
Empress  Elizabeth,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne,  abdicated, 
and  died  in  1762.  Her  reign  was  distinguished  by  victories 
of  Russia  over  the  Turks  and  Tartars,  and  her  desire  for 
personal  distinction  led  her  to  do  much  to  improve  the  social 
life  of  Russia  and  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  people. 
She  had  a  passion  for  literature,  and  herself  wrote  a  number 
of  books  for  children.2  The  number  of  her  offspring  by 
her  different  lovers  has  originated  a  fresh  class  of  Russian 
nobility.  To  her  favourites  she  was  most  munificent,  and 
the  most  celebrated  of  these — the  brothers  Orlof,  Vissensky, 
Vassiltschikef,  Potemkin,  Zavodofsky,  Zoritch,  Korzakof, 
Lanskoi,  Yermolof,  Momonof,  Plato  and  Valerian  Zubof — 
received  as  much  as  92,820,000  roubles  amongst  them. 
Catherine  died  in  1796. 

In  the  same  vault,  but  without  other  monuments  than 

1  Clarke. 

2  Tales  of  the  Tsarevitch,  *  Chlor,' and  the  Little  Samoyedi ;  also  historical  and 
moral  essays  collected  in  the  Bibliotheqne  des  Grands-Dues  Alexandre  et  Consiantin. 


94  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

brass  plates  in  the  wall,  are  buried  the  unhappy  Alexis  and 
his  wife. 

Alexis  Petrovitch,  son  of  Peter  the  Great  by  his  first  wife, 
Eudoxia  Lapoukyn,  was  born  in  1690.  It  seemed  as  if 
nature  had  made  him  especially  antipathetic  to  his  father. 
He  loved  all  that  his  father  hated — the  old  religion,  the  old 
customs,  the  old  capital ;  he  was  furious  at  his  father's  re- 
forms, and  he  declared  his  intention  of  abandoning  S. 
Petersburg  as  soon  as  his  father  was  dead. 

'  Peter  was  active,  curious,  and  energetic.  Alexis  was  contem- 
plative and  reflective.  He  was  not  without  intellectual  ability,  but  he 
liked  a  quiet  life.  He  preferred  reading  and  thinking.  At  the  age 
when  Peter  was  making  fireworks,  building  boats,  and  exercising  his 
comrades  in  mimic  war,  Alexis  was  pondering  over  the  "Divine 
Mamma,"  reading  the  "  Wonders  of  God,"  reflecting  on  Thomas  a 
Kempis's  "  Imitation  of  Christ,"  and  making  excerpts  from  Baronius. 
While  it  sometimes  seemed  as  if  Peter  was  born  too  soon  for  the  age, 
Alexis  was  born  too  late.' — Eugene  Schuyler. 

The  incapacity  shown  by  Alexis  soon  led  his  father  to 
wish  to  exclude  him  from  the  throne.  His  education  was 
disgracefully  neglected,  and  Mentchikoff  purposely  left  him 
to  the  companionship  of  the  most  ordinary  debauchees, 
especially  priests  of  the  lowest  class,  by  whom  he  was  con- 
stantly surrounded.  He  treated  his  wife,  Charlotte  Christina 
Sophia  of  Brunswick  (married  1711),  with  the  utmost  neglect, 
for  the  sake  of  a  Finnish  mistress  named  Euphrosyne.  His 
children  were  Natalia,  born  1714,  and  Peter  II.,  born  1715. 
Soon  after  the  birth  of  the  latter,  Charlotte  died,  welcoming 
her  end  with  joy,  and  consoled  on  her  deathbed  by  her  father- 
in-law,  who  promised  to  take  care  of  her  children  and  servants. 
Alexis  constantly  inveighed  against  his  father,  and,  in  1716, 
renounced  his  right  of  succession  in  favour  of  Peter's  son  by 


GRAVE   OF  ALEXIS  PETROVITCH.  95 

Catherine  I.,  and  escaped  into  Austria  and  thence  to  Naples. 
Being  persuaded  to  return  by  promises  of  forgiveness,  he 
again  formally  renounced  the  crown  at  Moscow,  but,  being 
regarded  by  his  father  as  a  traitor,  was  carried  to  S.  Peters- 
burg, and,  after  being  tried  there  for  rebellion,  was  con- 
demned to  death  ;  though  whether  his  end  was  actually 
caused  by  convulsions  from  fear,  by  the  knout,  or  by  the  axe 
of  the  executioner,  has  been  frequently  disputed. 

*  The  trial  was  begun  on  June  25,  and  continued  to  July  6,  when 
the  supreme  court,  with  unanimous  consent,  passed  sentence  of 
death  upon  the  prince,  but  left  the  manner  of  it  to  his  Majesty's  deter- 
mination. The  prince  was  brought  before  the  court,  his  sentence  was 
read  to  him,  and  he  was  reconveyed  to  the  fortress.  On  the  next  day 
his  Majesty,  attended  by  all  the  senators  and  bishops,  with  several 
others  of  high  rank,  went  to  the  fort,  and  entered  the  apartments  where 
the  Tsarevitch  was  kept  prisoner.  Some  little  time  thereafter,  Marshal 
Weyde  came  out,  and  ordered  me  to  go  to  Mr.  Bear's  the  druggist, 
whose  shop  was  hard-by,  and  tell  him  to  make  the  potion  strong 
which  he  had  bespoke,  as  the  prince  was  then  very  ill.  When  I  delivered 
this  message  to  Mr.  Bear  he  turned  quite  pale,  and  fell  a  shaking  and 
trembling,  and  appeared  in  the  utmost  confusion,  which  surprised  me 
so  much,  that  I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter  with  him,  but  he  was 
unable  to  return  me  any  answer.  In  the  meantime  the  Marshal  himself 
came  in,  much  in  the  same  condition  as  the  druggist,  saying,  he  ought 
to  have  been  more  expeditious,  as  the  prince  was  very  ill  of  an 
apoplectic  fit ;  upon  this  the  druggist  delivered  him  a  silver  cup  with  a 
cover,  which  the  Marshal  himself  carried  into  the  prince's  apartment, 
staggering  all  the  way  as  he  went  like  one  drunk.  About  an  hour 
after,  the  Tsar,  with  all  his  attendants,  withdrew,  with  very  dismal 
countenances,  and  when  they  went,  the  Marshal  ordered  me  to  attend 
at  the  prince's  apartment,  and  in  case  of  any  alteration  to  inform  him 
immediately  thereof.  There  were  at  that  time  two  physicians  and  two 
surgeons  in  waiting,  with  whom,  and  the  officers  on  guard,  I  dined  on 
what  had  been  dressed  for  the  prince's  dinner.  The  physicians  were 
called  in  immediately  after  to  attend  on  the  prince,  who  was  struggling 
out  of  one  convulsion  into  another,  and,  after  great  agony,  expired  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I  went  directly  to  inform  the  Marshal, 
and  he  went  that  moment  to  acquaint  his  Majesty,  who  ordered  the 


96  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

corpse  to  be  embo welled,  after  which  it  was  laid  in  a  coffin,  covered 
with  black  velvet,  and  a  pall  of  rich  gold  tissue  spread  over  it  ;  it  was 
then  carried  out  of  the  fort  to  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  where 
the  corpse  lay  in  state  till  the  nth  in  the  evening,  when  it  was  carried 
back  to  the  fort,  and  deposited  in  the  royal  burying  vault,  next  to  the 
coffin  of  the  princess,  his  late  consort,  on  which  occasion  the  Tsar  and 
Tsarina,  and  the  chief  of  the  nobility,  followed  in  procession.  Various 
were  the  reports  that  were  spread  concerning  his  death  ;  it  was  given 
out  publicly,  that  on  hearing  his  sentence  of  death  pronounced,  the 
dread  thereof  threw  him  into  an  apoplectic  fit,  of  which  he  died  :  very 
few  believed  that  he  died  a  natural  death,  but  it  was  dangerous  for  people 
to  speak  as  they  thought.  The  ministers  of  the  Emperor,  and  the  States 
of  Holland  were  forbid  the  Court  for  speaking  their  minds  too  freely 
on  this  occasion,  and,  upon  complaint  against  them,  were  both  recalled.' 
Bruce 's  'Memoirs,'  pp.  185-187. 

The  group  of  tombs  on  the  other  side  of  the  altar, 
opposite  the  picture  of  the  great  apostle,  are  those  of  the 
Emperor  Paul  with  his  sons  and  daughters-in-law.  The  line 
of  sarcophagi  at  the  back  begins  nearest  to  the  altar  with 
that  of  the  eccentric  Paul  (1796-1801),  son  of  the  murdered 
Peter  III.  and  Catherine  II.,  himself  murdered,  as  we  shall 
see,  in  the  Michael  Palace.  Next  comes  his  widow,  the 
beneficent  Marie  Feodorovna,  who  did  much  for  the  en- 
couragement of  literature  in  Russia,  and  founded  many  of 
its  finest  charitable  institutions.  Her  tomb  is  succeeded  by 
those  of  her  eldest  son,  the  great  Alexander  /.,  and  his  wife, 
Elizabeth  Alexievna. 

Alexander,  born  1777,  was  the  eldest  son  of  Paul  Petro- 
vitch  and  Marie  Feodorovna  of  Wiirtemberg.  He  was 
educated,  by  the  care  of  his  grandmother  the  Empress 
Catherine,  under  Nicholas  SoltikofT.  At  15  he  was  married 
to  Princess  Louisa  of  Baden  (of  14),  who  took  the  name  of 
Elizabeth  Alexievna  on  her  Greek  baptism.  It  is  believed 
that  he  knew  of  the  conspiracy  to  murder  his  father,  but  was 


TOMBS  OF  ALEXANDER  /.   AND  NICHOLAS.    97 

persuaded  that  it  was  necessary  to  save  his  own  life  and  that 
of  his  mother  and  brothers.  Russia  made  great  progress  in 
civilisation  in  his  reign,  which  added  Finland  to  the  empire 
and  welcomed  the  efforts  of  the  Bible  Society  in  Russia. 
Alexander  did  all  he  could  to  avoid  war  with  Napoleon, 
whose  personal  charm  captivated  him  whenever  they  met. 
After  the  retreat  from  Moscow  he  appeared  as  the  peace- 
maker of  Europe,  but  entered  France  for  the  second  time 
as  conqueror,  after  Waterloo.  He  died  at  Taganrog, 
December  i,  1825,  aged  48,  and  his  wife  followed  him  in 
the  ensuing  May. 

'  Toutes  ses  paroles,  toutes  ses  manieres,  respiraient  la  bonte  du  coeur, 
le  besom  de  se  faire  aimer,  et  1'amour  leplus  vrai  de  1'humanite.  Sans 
faste  ou  prevention,  il  acccutuma  lui-meme  la  noblesse  a  des  habitudes 
simples,  com  me  il  lui  donnait  Fexemple  de  1'elegance  des  mceurs  et  de 
1'amabilite  des  manieres.' 

4  Le  traite  conclu  entre  les  empereurs  de  Russie  et  d'Autriche  et  le  roi 
de  Prusse,  et  que  le  nom  de  Saints -Alliance  a  rendu  si  fameux,  porte 
evidemment  1'empreinte  des  idees  religieuses  d'Alexandre.  Son  pream- 
bule  est  digne  des  decrets  d'un  concile  ;  et  c'est  une  chose  singuliere  que 
ce  traite  politico-theologique  conclu  par  trois  souverains,  tons  d'une 
religion  differente.  Le  ton  de  componction  qui  y  regne  passa  bien- 
tot  dans  la  vie  et  dans  les  actes  de  1'autocrate,  et  fut  entretenu  en  lui 
par  les  predications  de  Mme.  de  Kriidner,  qu'il  ecoutait  alors  avec 
complaisance,  bien  qu'il  la  traitat  plus  tard  avec  severite.  Rien  ne 
cnractcrise  mieux  1'etat  moral  de  1'autocrate  a  cette  epoque  qu'un  aveu 
(|u'i!  fit  a  M.  Empeytaz,  ministre  protestant  et  compagnon  de  voyage 
de  la  nouvelle  prophetesse.  "  Dans  le  conseil,"  lui  dit-il,  "toutes  les 
fois  que  ses  ministres  etaient  partages  d'opinion,  et  qu'il  etait  difficile  de 
les  mettre  d'accord,  il  priait  Dieu,  et  avail  presque  toujours  la  satisfac- 
tion de  voir  se  rapprocher  les  opinions  en  proportion  de  la  ferveur  qu'il 
apportait  a  sa  priere."  ' — Nouvelle  Biographie  Generate. 

The  sarcophagi  of  the  ultra-conservative  Nicholas  (1796- 
1855,  third  son  of  Paul) — emperor  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean 
War,  who  did  all  he  could  to  isolate  Russia — and  his  wife 

H 


98  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Alexandra,  are  in  front  of  those  of  his  parents.  The  third 
tomb  in  the  front  line  is  that  of  Anna  Petrovna,  daughter  of 
Peter  the  Great,  who  was  brought  up  in  the  expectation  of 
two  thrones — Russia  and  Sweden — and  disappointed  of  both. 
Excluded  from  the  council  of  regency  of  Mentchikoff  after 
her  mother's  death,  she  retired  with  her  husband,  the  Duke 
of  Holstein,  to  Kiel,  and  died  there,  aged  22,  in  1728. 

The  tomb  (at  the  entrance  of  the  north  aisle)  of  the  cruel 
Grand- Duke  Constantine,  the  second  brother  of  Alexander, 
who  resigned  his  claims  to  the  throne,  is  distinguished  by 
the  huge  keys  of  the  Polish  fortresses  of  Modlin  and 
Zamoscz,  which  lie  upon  it.  In  the  same  aisle  are  the  sar- 
cophagi of  Alexander  II.  (1855-1881) — the  'Tsar  liberator,' 
by  whom  22,000,000  serfs  were  set  free,  but  who  paid  for 
his  generous  impulses  with  his  life— of  his  wife  Marie 
Alexandrovna  of  Hesse,  and  their  eldest  son,  the  Tsarevitch, 
who  died  at  Nice.  Of  few  Russian  sovereigns  are  so  many 
amiable  traits  recorded  as  of  Alexander  II. 

A  young  poet  had  written  a  most  scurrilous  poem,  in 
which  he  had  described  and  libelled  not  only  the  Empress, 
but  also  all  the  Grand  Dukes  and  Duchesses.  Some  one, 
the  censor  of  the  press,  went  and  told  the  Empress.  *  The 
man  had  better  be  sent  off  to  Siberia  at  once,'  he  said  ;  'it 
is  not  a  case  for  delay.' 

'Oh,  no,'  said  the  Empress  ;  'wait  a  little,  but  tell  the 
man  I  desire  to  see  him  at  six  o'clock  to-morrow  evening.' 

When  the  poor  man  was  told  this,  he  felt  as  if  his  last 
hour  was  come,  and  that  the  Emperor  must  intend  himself 
to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  eternal  exile.  He  went  to  the 
palace,  and  was  shown  through  all  the  grand  state-rooms, 
one  after  another,  without  seeing  anyone,  till  at  last  he 


TOMB   OF  ALEXANDER  II.  99 

arrived  at  a  small  commonplace  room  at  the  end  of  them 
all,  where  there  was  a  single  table  with  a  lamp  upon  it,  and 
here  he  saw  the  Empress,  the  Emperor,  and  all  the  Grand 
Dukes  and  Duchesses  whom  he  had  mentioned  in  his  poem. 

*  How  do  you  do,  sir  ? '  said  the  Emperor.  *  I  hear  you 
have  written  a  most  beautiful  poem,  and  I  have  sent  for  you 
that  you  may  read  it  aloud  to  us  yourself,  and  I  have  invited 
all  the  Grand  Dukes  and  Duchesses  to  come  that  they  may 
have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  you.' 

Then  the  poor  man  prostrated  himself  at  the  Emperor's 
feet.  *  Send  me  to  Siberia,  sire,'  he  said  ;  '  force  me  to 
become  a  soldier;  only  do  not  compel  me  to  read  that 
poem.' 

'  Oh,  sir,  you  are  cruel  to  refuse  me  the  pleasure,  but  you 
will  not  be  so  ungallant  as  to  refuse  the  Empress  the  pleasure 
of  hearing  your  verses,  and  she  will  ask  you  herself.' 

And  the  Empress  asked  him. 

When  he  had  finished  she  said,  '  I  do  not  think  he  will 
write  any  more  verses  about  us  again.  He  need  not  go  to 
Siberia  just  yet.' 

A  nobleman  had  entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  the 
Emperor,  and  was  sentenced  to  Siberia.  His  eyes  were 
bandaged,  and  he  was  put  into  a  dark  carriage,  and  for  seven 
days  and  nights  they  travelled  on  and  on,  only  stopping  to 
take  food.  At  last  he  felt  that  they  must  have  reached 
Siberia,  and,  in  the  utmost  anguish,  he  perceived  that  the 
carriage  stopped,  and  the  bandage  was  taken  off  his  eyes, 
and  .  .  .  He  was  in  his  own  home  !  He  had  been  driven 
round  and  round  S.  Petersburg  the  whole  time  :  but  the 
fright  quite  cured  him. 

Alexander  II.,  the  liberator  of  the  serfs,  the  man  who  was 

H  2 


ioo  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

able  by  his  individual  act  to  benefit  a  greater  number  of  the 
human  race  than  anyone  who  ever  lived,  met  with  a  more 
frightful  end  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  but  the  sympathy 
and  grief  of  Christendom  followed  him  to  the  grave  in 
which  he  lies  with  the  hair  of  his  morganatic  wife,  Princess 
Dolgorouky,1  cut  off  after  his  death,  upon  his  breast.  His 
sarcophagus  is  covered  with  a  pall,  inscribed  simply,  '  His 
Imperial  Majesty  Alexander  II.' 

In  a  separate  building  within  the  fortress  is  preserved 
the  famous  boat  known  as  '  The  Little  Grandsire '  or  '  the 
Father  of  the  Russian  Fleet.'  It  is  sometimes  said  to  have 
been  sent  by  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  to  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  but  was  in  reality  built  during  the  reign  of  Alexis 
by  a  Dutchman  named  Kerstem  Brandt.  Peter  the  Great 
first  saw  it  at  the  village  Ismaelovo  in  1691,  and  on  enquiring 
of  Timmerman,  his  instructor  in  navigation,  why  it  was 
built  in  such  a  different  way  from  other  boats,  was  told  that 
it  was  made  to  sail  against  the  wind.  Struck  by  this,  he 
desired  Brandt  to  be  sent  for,  and,  under  his  direction, 
practised  the  boat  upon  the  Yausa.  From  the  number  of 
ships  which  were  afterwards  built  with  the  same  intention, 
the  boat  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  grandsire  of  the  Russian 


1  Dolgorouky  (the  long-armed)  was  originally  a  nickname.  Such  designations 
were  at  one  period  very  common  in  Russia,  and  have  become  the  origin  of  many  of 
its  family  names.  The  terminations  in  'off 'and  'eff' denote  descent  or  derivation. 
Only  those  families  which  are  descended  from  some  of  the  ancient  princes  have 
retained  the  names  of  their  former  possessions. 

The  first  sovereign  of  the  house  of  Romanoff,  Michael  Fe'odorovitch,  married  as 
his  first  wife  (Sept.  18,  1624)  Princess  Marie  Vladimirovna  Dolgorouky,  who  died 
childless  in  1625  (the  house  of  Romanoff  descending  from  his  second  marriage,  with 
Eudoxia  Strechneff).  The  house  of  Dolgorouky  was  for  the  second  time  on  the 
point  of  making  a  royal  marriage  in  1729,  when  Peter  II.  was  affianced  to  Catherine, 
daughter  of  Prince  Alexis  Gregorie"vitch  Dolgorouky,  but  died  before  the  day  fixed 
for  the  ceremony.  The  mistress,  afterwards  the  morganatic  wife,  of  Alexander  II. 
was  Catherine,  daughter  of  Prince  Michael  Dolgorouky. 


TUP:  FORTRESS.  101 

navy.  It  is  thirty  feet  long,  eight  feet  broad,  and  can  spread 
three  sails.  In  the  stern  is  an  image  carved  in  wood,  repre- 
senting a  Russian  pope  stretching  out  his  arm  over  the  sea 
in  blessing,  that  it  may  be  kind  to  the  Russian  fleet,  signified 
by  some  rudely-carved  vessels  leaving  a  harbour.  The 
'  Grandsire  '  was  deposited  in  the  fortress  by  the  Emperor  in 
person,  all  the  men-of-war  in  the  Neva  saluting  it.  In  1870, 
on  the  celebration  of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of 
Peter's  birth,  it  was  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  interest  in 
the  great  parade  at  S.  Petersburg. 

Except  as  a  national  monument,  the  Fortress  of  S. 
Petersburg  is  of  little  value. 

'  The  building  of  S.  Petersburg  seems  almost  like  a  freak.  .  .  . 
The  fortress,  on  which  so  much  money  and  so  much  life  were  spent, 
then,  as  now,  protected  nothing.  Its  guns  could  never  reach  the 
enemy,  unless  the  town  had  been  previously  taken.  It  now  protects 
nothing  but  the  mint  and  the  cathedral  containing  the  imperial  tombs. 
During  the  reign  of  Peter's  successors,  its  walls  were  used  as  a  suitable 
background  for  fireworks  and  illuminations,  and  its  casemates  have 
always  been  found  convenient  for  the  reception  of  political  prisoners.'— 
Schuyler>s  '  Peter  the  Great' 

'  Against  an  attack  from  the  side  of  the  sea,  S.  Petersburg  has  no 
other  defence  than  Cronstadt.  The  Russian  fleet  could  not  hold  out 
against  the  combined  fleets  of  England,  Denmark,  and  Sweden.  The 
Russian  ships,  after  the  loss  of  a  battle,  would  be  compelled  to  retire 
behind  Cronstadt.  Should  Cronstadt  then  yield,  either  to  the  gold  or 
to  the  artillery  of  the  enemy,  the  Russian  garrison  would  be  forced  to 
seek  shelter  in  the  citadel,  the  English  men-of-war  would  enter  the 
Neva,  and  in  the  cannonade  that  would  probably  ensue  the  finest  part 
of  the  capital  might  be  laid  in  ashes  by  the  fire  of  its  own  citadel.  The 
mortification  of  such  a  catastrophe  would  drive  the  government  to 
realise  the  idea  frequently  entertained,  of  returning  to  the  ancient 
capital  ;  Petersburg  would  then  shrink  into  a  mere  maritime  city  of 
trade,  and  Vassili  Ostrof  would  perhaps  be  all  that  would  remain  of  it.' 
Kohl. 


102  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Close  to  the  northern  entrance  of  the  bridge  near  the 
fortress  is  a  little  church — the  oldest  in  S.  Petersburg,  where 
Peter  the  Great  used  to  pray— containing  various  relics  of 
him,  including  a  chandelier  turned  by  his  own  hand. 

Hard  by,  in  a  tiny  garden,  a  building  encases  the  Cottage 
of  Peter  the  Great,  the  original  Palace  of  S.  Petersburg. 
Here  another  of  his  boats  is  preserved.  Here  also  is  the 
tremendous  staff  of  Peter,  the  only  relic  he  retained  of  the 
ancient  costume  and  accompaniments  of  the  Tsars,  when  he 
astonished  the  Russians,  accustomed  to  a  long  chain  of 
barbaric  costumes  in  their  sovereigns,  by  what  was  even 
more  strange  to  them,  the  full  uniform  of  a  European  soldier. 

Part  of  the  house  has  always  been  used  as  a  chapel  since 
Peter's  death  :  which  is  strange  in  the  dwelling  of  one  whose 
private  life  was  little  better  than  that  of  a  savage,  whose 
chief  amusement  was  getting  drunk  ;  who  forced  his  first 
wife  into  a  convent  that  he  might  marry  his  Finnish  mistress ; 
who  beguiled  his  eldest  son  into  his  power  by  promises 
which  he  broke  as  soon  as  he  had  secured  him,  and  then 
watched  him  tortured  to  death  under  the  knout ;  finally, 
who  had  no  hesitation  in  sentencing  those  who  differed  from 
him  to  be  impaled,  broken  on  the  wheel,  or  roasted  alive  ! 
His  more  respectable  associates  were  mechanicians,  manu- 
facturers, artisans,  and  merchants,  and,  as  Bishop  Burnet 
said,  he  seemed  '  designed  by  nature  to  be  a  ship-carpenter 
rather  than  a  great  Prince.'  The  Electress  Sophia,  in  1697, 
describing  her  interview  with  the  Tsar,  affirmed  that  '  he 
knew  excellently  well  fourteen  trades.'  His  going  to  the 
terrible  extreme  of  defacing  'the  image  of  God'  by  the 
abolition  of  beards  caused  a  large  section  of  the  people 
to  regard  him  as  Antichrist  even  in  his  lifetime.  The 


THE  HERMITAGE.  103 

peasantry  as  well  as  the  clergy  were  opposed  to  him  ;  only 
the  nobles  espoused  the  cause  of  progress.  Yet,  in  his 
wars,  the  motto  of  Peter  was  'For  the  Faith  and  the 
Faithful,'  and  his  touching  last  words,  'My  Lord,  I  am 
dying  :  help  Thou  my  unbelief,'  deserve  to  be  remembered. 
In  the  house  of  Peter  is  a  famous  icon,  which  has  been 
so  often  carried  in  battle,  against  the  Tartars,  the  Poles, 
and  the  French  ;  by  Demetrius,  by  Peter,  by  Suvarof  and 
by  Kutusof.  It  is  a  sad-looking  head  of  the  Saviour,  before 
which  people  are  constantly  lighting  little  tapers,  and  crossing 
and  prostrating  themselves,  with  that  reverent  and  striking 
simplicity  which  is  always  so  remarkable  in  Russia  and 
which  takes  no  notice  of  spectators. 


Many  mornings  in  S.  Petersburg  may  be  pleasantly 
spent  at  the  Hermitage,  which  is  supposed  to  be  freely 
opened  to  the  public,  though  plenty  of  fees  are  really  re- 
quired. Situated  just  beyond  the  Winter  Palace,  this  is, 
externally,  one  of  the  handsomest  buildings  in  the  capital, 
though,  with  characteristic  want  of  invention,  its  huge  cary- 
atides all  exactly  repeat  each  other.  The  Hermitage  was 
no  solitude,  but  a  magnificent  palace,  the  original  hermit 
being  the  Empress  Catherine  II.,  the  nymphs  the  princesses 
and  countesses  of  her  Court.1  Here  she  inculcated  the 
utmost  ease  and  absence  of  etiquette  ;  one  of  her  rules, 
most  in  contrast  to  those  of  existing  sovereigns,  being — 
'  Asseyez-vous  ou  vous  voulez,  et  quand  il  vous  plaira,  sans 
qu'on  le  repete  mille  fois.' 

1  Kohl. 


104  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  We  possess  many  an  alluring  picture  by  Storch,  by  Dupre  cle  St. - 
Maure  and  by  others,  who  took  a  part  in  those  evenings,  of  the  perfect 
freedom  and  equality  that  reigned  here,  in  accordance  with  the  ukases 
suspended  in  all  the  apartments  of  the  palace.  '  Musicians  displayed 
their  talents,  artistes  their  works,  and  men  of  wit  their  opinions,  and 
the  pictures  which  we  see  elsewhere  only  as  allegorical  representations  of 
art-  and  science-loving  princes  were  here  every  day  realised.  On  the 
roof  of  the  building,  the  mighty  Semiramis  of  the  North  had  created  a 
garden  with  flowers,  shrubs,  and  lofty  trees,  heated  in  winter  by  sub- 
terraneous vaults,  and  illuminated  in  summer  ;  and  many  might  here 
really  esteem  their  abode  more  splendid  than  the  Grecian  Olympus.'— 
Kohl. 


On  the  ground  floor  is  the  famous  collection  of  Scythian 
antiquities  from  the  south  of  Russia,  especially  from  the 
Crimea.  In  this  collection  are  two  vases  of  incomparable 
value — the  silver  vase  of  Nicopol  and  the  golden  vase  of 
Kertch. 

'  On  les  fait  remonter  au  quatrieme  siecle  avant  notre  ere,  c'est-a- 
dire  presque  a  1'epoque  oil  Herodote  a  compose  ses  recits,  dont  ils 
seraient  le  vivant  commentaire.  Les  Scythes  du  vase  d'argent  avec  leurs 
longs  cheveux,  leurs  longues  barbes,  leurs  grands  traits,  leur  tunique 
et  leurs  braies,  reproduisent  assez  bien  la  physionomie,  la  stature  et  le 
costume  des  habitants  actuels  des  memes  regions  ;  on  les  voit  occupes  a 
dompter,  a  entraver  leurs  chevaux  par  des  precedes  qui  encore 
aujourd'hui  s'emploient  dans  ces  campagnes.  Les  Scythes  du  vase  d'or, 
avec  leurs  bonnets  pointus,  leurs  vetements  brodes  et  piques  dans  le 
gout  asiatique,  leurs  arcs  de  forme  etrange,  ont  cependant  un  type 
aryen  tres-prononce.  Les  uns  pourraient  bien  etre  les  Scythes  laboureurs 
d'Herodote,  peut-etre  les  ancetres  des  Slaves  agriculteurs  du  Dnieper  ; 
les  autres,  les  Scythes  royaux,  adonnes  a  une  vie  nomade  et  toute 
guerriere.' — Rambaud^  '  Hist,  de  la  Riissie. ' 

The  upper  galleries  are  very  handsome,  adorned  with 
hideous  malachite,  but  with  splendid  vases  of  violet  jasper. 
In  the  Italian  school  Guido  Reni  is  nobly  represented  in  the 
picture  of  S.  Joseph  with  the  Infant  Saviour.  Sebastian 


THE  HERMITAGE.  105 

del  Piombo  has  a  noble  portrait  of  Cardinal  Pole.  Of 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  there  is  a  Madonna  and  Child,  executed 
at  Rome  in  1513,  slightly  altered  from  the  picture  at 
Warwick. 

In  the  Spanish  school  is  Murillo's  Assumption  of  the 
young  girlish  Virgin,  who  is  literally  floating  upwards  on  her 
cherub  wreath.  Of  Luini,  there  is  the  mysterious  '  Colum- 
bine ; '  of  Morone,  the  graceful  and  lovely  Judith,  who  looks 
as  if  she  had  only  stepped  by  accident  upon  the  head  of 
Holofernes.  In  the  Raffaelle  room  is  the  circular  picture 
known  as  '  La  Vierge  de  la  Maison  d'Albe,'  in  the  best  and 
most  delicate  manner  of  the  master.  Here,  in  a  lovely 
landscape,  the  kneeling  S.  John  playfully  offers  a  cross  to 
the  Infant  Saviour,  in  the  lap  of  his  Mother,  who  is  wistfully 
watching  the  prophetic  play  of  the  children.  There  is  a 
noble  portrait  by  Raffaelle  of  an  old  man  with  an  '  It  does 
not  signify '  look.  And  on  a  screen  are  the  two  most  cele- 
brated miniatures  in  the  world,  both  by  Raffaelle — the 
famous  Madonna  from  the  Conestabili  Staffa  Palace  at 
Perugia  in  its  original  frame,  wisely  unaltered  and  un- 
mended  ;  and  the  S.  George,  in  which  the  dragon  is  killed 
by  a  spear  only,  and  the  princess  is  introduced  upon  her 
knees.  This  picture,  which  was  painted  as  early  as  1506, 
long  hung  with  an  ever-burning  lamp  before  a  great  portrait 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander  I.  There  is  an  immense  collec- 
tion of  the  works  of  Teniers  and  other  Dutch  masters, 
amongst  which  the  finest  are  Paul  Potter's  'Watch-dog' 
and  his  famous  cow,  seen  in  the  centre  of  a  group  of  cattle 
under  some  oak  trees  before  an  old  cottage.  Rembrandt's 
charming  portrait  of  his  mother  will  remain  in  memory 
amongst  the  many  examples  of  that  master. 


io6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  On  the  whole,  there  are  more  Dutch  cottages  such  as  Ostade 
painted  than  there  are  Venetian  palaces  or  Roman  churches  ;  more 
North-German  cattle-pastures  than  southern  Alps  ;  more  unroasted  and 
roasted  game  than  roasted  martyrs  ;  more  hares  transfixed  by  the  spit 
of  the  cook  than  S.  Sebastians  by  the  arrows  of  the  heathen  ;  more 
dogs,  horses,  and  cows  than  priests,  prophets,  and  saintly  visions.  So 
numerous  are  the  productions  of  some  of  these  masters  here,  that 
separate  halls  are  devoted  to  them,  and  it  is  scarcely  conceivable  how 
enough  of  their  pictures  were  found  for  other  collections.' — KohL 


As  a  rule,  Dutch  pictures  will  be  found  to  be  more 
popular  with  Russians  than  Italian,  for  which  collectors  in 
Russia — lovers  of  bright  colours — will  seldom  give  large 
prices,  '  because  they  have  too  much  shade.' 

A  long  gallery  in  the  Hermitage  is  fitly  devoted  to  the 
memorials  of  Peter  the  Great — his  curious  wooden  chariot ; 
his  turning-lathes  and  telescopes  ;  his  throne,  with  his  effigy, 
seated  in  the  (full  of  holes)  dress  he  wore  ;  a  mask  from  his 
face,  with  real  black  hair  and  moustache,  which  was  given 
by  him  to  Cardinal  Valenti,  and  found  at  Torlonia's  at 
Rome  ;  and  a  little  statuette  of  his  housekeeper. 

Of  the  adjoining  gallery  of  relics,  one's  memory  dwells 
on  a  chaos  of  emeralds  and  diamonds — in  watches,  chate- 
laines, boxes,  chains,  vases,  every  decoration  of  boudoir  and 
toilet.  A  snuff-box,  with  miniatures  of  'Marie  Antoinette 
and  her  children,  given  by  Louis  XVI.  to  the  faithful  Clery 
upon  the  scaffold,  is  deeply  interesting  ;  a  wig  of  spun  silver 
worn  by  Naryskin,  Grand  Marshal  of  the  Court,  is  very 
curious  ;  and  the  strange  timepiece  of  Prince  Potemkin,  with 
the  peacock  which  spreads  its  tail,  the  cock  which  crows, 
the  owl  which  blinks  its  eyes,  and  the  grasshopper  which 
eats  a  mushroom— but  all  rather  out  of  order  now.  There 
is  also  a  magnificent  diamond  aigrette,  with  many  other 


THE  HERMITAGE.  107 

relics  of  Potemkin  (pronounced  Patiomkiri),  the  most  famous 
and  extravagant  of  the  favourites  of  Catherine  II. — priceless 
jewels,  even  volumes  of  banknotes  bound  together  as  curi- 
osities. 

The  luxurious  splendour  of  the  Russian  aristocracy  which 
this  gallery  exemplifies  was  first  introduced  by  Peter  the 
Great,  who,  while  he  liked  nothing  but  simplicity  himself, 
wished  his  courtiers  to  be  as  magnificent  as  possible.  The 
Troubetskoi,  Sheremetieff,  Mentchikoff,  enriched  by  the 
Emperor,  flattered  him  by  the  splendour  of  their  uniforms 
and  the  gorgeousness  of  their  equipages.  Many  of  the  great 
families  ruined  themselves  that  they  might  ingratiate  them  • 
selves  with  the  Emperor  by  their  extravagance.  Prince  Ivan 
Vassilievitch  Odoievski  was  obliged  to  sell  palace,  villages, 
serfs  ;  nothing  remained  to  him  but  some  servants  who  had 
once  been  his  musicians.  He  let  them  out  to  the  public, 
and  lived  upon  them  till  his  death.1 

The  Empress  Anne  liked  fine  clothes  so  much  that  the 
oldest  courtier,  with  white  hair,  would  appear  en  rose  tendre. 
But  the  Russian  Court  reached  its  greatest  splendour  under 
Catherine  II. 

'  Men  and  women  seemed  to  have  challenged  one  other  who  should 
be  most  loaded  with  diamonds.  This  expression  is  not  exaggerated  ; 
for  numbers  of  the  principal  people  of  fashion  were  almost  covered  with 
them  ;  their  buttons,  their  buckles,  the  scabbards  of  their  swords,  their 
epaulets,  consisted  of  diamonds  ;  and  many  persons  even  wore  a  triple 
cord  of  precious  stones  round  the  borders  of  their  hats.  This  passion 
for  jewels  even  descended  to  the  rank  of  private  individuals,  who  are 
fond  of  aping  the  great,  and  yet,  after  all,  are  but  common  people  ; 
in  this  class  of  persons  were  families  who  possessed  as  many  diamonds 
as  the  nobles.  The  wife  of  a  Russian  burgher  would  bring  her  husband 

1  See  Victor  Tissot,  Russes  et  Allemands. 


io8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

to  ruin  only  that  she  might  make  her  appearance  with  a  headdress  or 
girdle  of  pearls  or  precious  stones  to  the  value  of  some  thousand 
roubles. ' —  Tooke's  '  Life  of  Catherine  II. ' 

The  Court  of  Russia  still  keeps  up  quite  a  traffic  in  deco- 
rations, which  are  given  to  the  mercantile  classes  in  return 
for  a  certain  amount  of  subscriptions  to  charities,  and  are 
regularly  bargained  for.  All  officers  have  decorations  of 
some  kind. 

On  the  quay  beyond  the  Hermitage  are  some  of  the 
handsomest  houses  in  the  town,  of  vast  dimensions. 

'  A  fully-appointed  house  of  the  first  class  in  Russia— without  men- 
tioning the  numerous  resident  relations,  old  aunts,  cousins,  adopted 
children,  &c. ;  without  mentioning  the  educational  staff,  the  German, 
French,  and  Russian  masters,  tutors  and  governesses,  the  family 
physician,  companions  and  others,  who,  as  mdjorum  gentium,  must  of 
course  be  excluded  -  has  so  astounding  a  number  of  serving-folk  of  one 
kind  or  another,  that  the  like  is  to  be  found  in  no  other  country  in  the 
world.  The  following  may  be  named  as  never  wanting  in  the  list  : 
the  superintendent  of  accounts,  the  secretary,  the  dvore~ki  or  maitre 
d'hotel,  the  valets  of  the  lord,  the  valets  of  the  lady,  the  dytitka  or 
overseer  of  the  children,  the  footmen,  the  buffetshek  or  butler  and 
his  adjuncts,  the  table-decker,  the  head  groom,  the  coachman  and 
postilions  of  the  lord,  the  coachman  and  postilions  of  the  lady,  the 
attendants  on  the  sons  of  the  house  and  their  tutors,  the  porters,  the 
head  cook  and  his  assistant,  the  baker  and  the  confectioner,  the 
whole  body  of  mushiks  or  servants,  minimarum  gentium,  the  stove- 
heater,  kvass-brewer,  the  waiting-maids  and  wardrobe-keeper  of  the 
lady,  the  waiting-maids  of  the  grown-up  daughters  and  their '  gover- 
nesses, the  nurses  in  and  past  service  and  their-under  nurses,1  &c.,  and, 
when  a  private  band  is  maintained,  the  Russian  Kapellmeister  and  the 
musicians. ' — Kohl. 

Facing  the  bridge  is  the  vast  open  space  called  Tsarinskoi 
Lug,  or  the  Field  of  the  Tsars,  a  name  which  has  been  cor- 

1  An  English  nurse  in  such  an  establishment  as  this  has  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
•jol.  a  year  wages. 


THE   SUMMER    GARDEN.  109 

rupted   into  Champ  de   Mars.     It  is  admirably  fitted  for 
reviews. 

Petersbourg  est  Fetat-major  d'une  armee  et  non  la  capitale  d'une 
nation.  Toute  magnifique  qirest  cette  ville  militaire,  elle  parait  nue 
a  1'oeil  d'un  homnie  de  F Occident.' — M.  de  Custine. 

Here  is  the  Monument  of  Pouchkine^  the  Byron  of  Russia, 
and  still  the  most  celebrated  of  native  poets  :  a  Russian 
Othello,  who,  jealous  of  his  beautiful  wife  and  exasperated 
by  false  reports,  challenged  his  innocent  brother-in-law, 
M.  d' Antes,  and,  forcing  him  to  fight  against  his  will,  was 
killed  by  him.  It  b  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  fact  of 
a  Russian  being  killed  by  a  Frenchman  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy of  everyone  on  the  side  of  the  dead  ;  justice  went  for 
nothing. 

Along  one  side  of  the  square  stretches  the  Summer 
Garden,  laid  out  in  lawns  and  avenues,  and  adorned  with 
classic  statues,  which,  as  well  as  all  the  tenderer  trees,  are 
boxed  up  in  winter.  Towards  the  river  is  a  celebrated 
railing  of  wrought  iron  with  garlands  and  arabesques.  A 
low  house  near  this,  ornamented  with  bas-reliefs  painted 
yellow,  was  once  used  by  Peter  the  Great.  Near  the  en- 
trance of  the  garden  on  this  side,  a  Chapel  on  the  quay, 
erected  by  the  offerings  of  the  people,  marks  the  spot  where 
Karakusof  attempted  to  murder  the  Emperor  Alexander  in 
1866.  '  You  will  find  your  throne  a  heavy  burden,'  had  been 
the  true  last  words  of  Nicholas,  addressed  to  him  from  his 
deathbed.  The  chapel  is  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold,  '  Touch 
not  mine  anointed.'  The  Summer  Palace  at  the  upper  end 
of  the  garden  was  built  by  the  Empress  Anne  in  1711,  and, 
after  her  death,  was  inhabited  by  her  lover  Biren,  who  was 


i  io  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

arrested  within  its  walls  by  the  Regent  Anna  Leopoldovna 
and  exiled  to  Siberia.1  A  handsome  monument  com- 
memorates the  fabulist  Kriloff  (1768-1844),  who  has  done 
more  than  anyone  else  to  expose  the  weakness  and  credulity 
of  the  different  classes  of  Russian  society.  His  fables  are 
drawn  directly  from  the  life  of  the  people,  and  show  the 
absurdity  of  the  estimation  in  which  Tchinn — rank  of  every 
kind — is  regarded  in  Russia.  The  blind  enthusiasm  which 
overlooks  the  most  essential  objects  is  held  up  to  ridicule  in 
a  'S.  Petersburg  Tshinnovnik,'  who  relates  to  his  friends 
that  he  has  been  to  the  museum  and  seen  the  most  won- 
derful things — 'birds  of  the  most  astonishing  colours,  beau- 
tiful butterflies,  all  foreign  !  and  gnats,  flies,  and  golden 
beetles,  so  small  that  they  can  scarcely  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye.'  '  But  what  say  you  to  the  elephant  and  the 
mammoth  that  are  there  also,  my  friend?'  'Elephant?' 
Mammoth  ?  Ah,  the  devil  !  I  really  did  not  notice  them. 
In  another  fable  the  pig  and  the  cat  swear  eternal  friendship, 
and  conspire  against  the  mice.  The  cat  gets  many  a  good 
dinner  thereby,  but  the  mice  eat  the  bacon  off  the  pig's 
back. 

The  Russian  peasant  is  far  from  sparing,  in  his  criticism, 
the  rich  and  great,  from  whom  he  bears  so  much,  though 
conscious  of  its  injustice.  Thus,  in  one  of  Kriloff  :s  fables, 
a  nobleman  gives  a  box  on  the  ear  to  one  of  his  serfs,  who 
has  just  saved  his  life  from  the  attack  of  a  bear,  and  cries 
out,  '  Stupid  fool,  to  tear  the  bear's  skin  so  carelessly  with 
thy  clumsy  axe  !  Why  didst  thou  not  stun  him  with  a 
stone,  or  strangle  him  with  a  rope  ?  What  is  his  skin  worth 


1  The  regime  of  the  hated  Biren,  under  which  only  Germans  had  favour,  was 
called  Birenovchtchina,  as  that  of  the  Tartars  had  been  called  Tatarchtchina 


THE   SUMMER   GARDEN.  in 

to  me  now  at  the  furrier's  ?     The  time  will  come,  varlet, 
when  I  will  take  its  value  out  of  thee.' 

At  the  present  time,  the  Summer  Garden  is  chiefly  given 
up  to  nurses  and  children,  whom  their  parents  delight  to 
dress  a  la  moujik.  Formerly  the  '  choosing  of  the  brides  ' 
used  to  take  place  here  on  Whit  Monday.  Girls,  dressed  in 
their  best,  and  decorated  with  all  the  jewels  and  ornaments 
which  their  families  possessed  or  could  borrow,  used  to  be 
marshalled  in  lines,  with  their  mothers  behind  them  ;  and, 
in  front,  the  young  men,  attended  by  their  fathers,  walked 
up  and  down  examining  the  blushing  beauties.  If  any  sign 
of  mutual  attraction  appeared,  the  parents  would  engage  in 
a  conversation,  into  which  they  would  endeavour  to  include 
their  charges.  Eight  days  after,  interviews  took  place  at  the 
houses  of  the  parents,  in  which  negotiations  would  often 
lead  to  a  betrothal.  Lately  the  custom  has  flagged,  but 
young  men  and  maidens  still  resort  in  great  numbers  to  the 
Summer  Garden  on  Whit  Monday  to  see  and  to  be  seen. 

'  Many  of  the  damsels  were  so  laden  with  gold  and  jewellery,  that 
scarcely  any  part  of  their  natural  beauty  remained  uncovered.  It  is 
even  said  that,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  a  Russian  mother,  not 
knowing  what  she  should  add  to  her  daughter's  toilet,  contrived  to 
make  a  necklace  of  six  dozen  of  gilt  teaspoons,  a  girdle  of  an  equal 
number  of  table-spoons,  and  then  fastened  a  couple  of  punch-ladles 
behind  in  the  shape  of  a  cross.' — Kohl. 

The  Summer  Garden  is  full  of  crows.  When  the  plot 
against  the  Emperor  Paul  was  ripe  for  action,  the  conspira- 
tors were  so  intimidated  by  the  noise  of  these  crows  that 
their  design  was  nearly  frustrated.1 

On  the  site  of  the  old  Summer  Palace,  in  which  he  was 

1   See  ToynevilleV^,//i-  of  Alexander  I. 


ii2  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

born,  the  Emperor  Paul  (1797-1801)  built  the  Michael 
Palace,  employing  no  less  than  5,000  men  in  its  hurried 
construction.  Over  the  door  he  inscribed  in  golden  letters, 
'  On  thy  house  will  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  rest  for  ever- 
more ' — words  ill  fulfilled  in  the  murder  of  the  Emperor 
three  months  after  he  came  to  reside  here. 

'  The  Russians  observe  that  the  number  of  letters  in  this  inscription 
corresponds  with  the  number  of  Paul's  years,  and  that  out  of  them  an 
anagram  may  be  composed  denoting  that  he  who  raised  the  building 
would  perish  by  a  violent  death.' — Carr,  'Northern  Summer.1 

Endless  are  the  stories  which  are  told  of  Paul's  violence 
and  eccentricities.  One  of  his  fancies  was  that  everyone  he 
met,  wherever  he  met  them,  must  get  out  of  their  carriages 
and  sledges,  stand  in  the  mud,  or  on  the  ice,  and  make  him 
a  bow.  This  was  of  course  considered  the  greatest  bore 
possible.  One  day  there  was  a  poor  dancing-master,  who 
was  going  to  give  some  lessons,  and  he  had  nothing  but  a 
pair  of  very  thin  shoes  on.  He  was  dreadfully  afraid  of 
encountering  the  Emperor,  for  it  was  the  depth  of  winter, 
and  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow  and  ice  ;  and  he 
thought  if  he  did  his  feet  would  certainly  be  frost-bitten. 
As  he  went  along,  he  saw  to  his  horror  that  the  Emperor 
was  coming  :  there  was  no  way  of  turning  aside  ;  he  must 
meet  him.  He  determined  at  once  that  the  only  way  was  to 
pretend  not  to  see  the  Emperor,  and  to  turn  the  other  way. 
Paul  was  not  to  be  outwitted.  He  stopped  at  once,  and 
sent  one  of  his  escort  to  see  why  the  dancing-master  had  not 
obeyed  his  orders.  The  poor  man  pleaded  not  having  seen 
the  Emperor,  and  implored  not  to  be  forced  to  get  out,  on 
account  of  his  thin  shoes.  The  Emperor  would  not  hear  of 


THE  MICHAEL  PALACE.  113 

it.  '  Let  him  walk  round  and  round  my  sledge,'  he  said, 
'  and  see  if  that  will  amuse  him  ;  and,  since  he  is  too  blind 
to  see  me,  tell  him  that  I  desire  for  the  future  that  he  will 
always,  at  all  times,  wear  green  shades  over  his  eyes.' 

'  Mungo  Park  was  hardly  exposed  to  greater  severity  of  exaction 
and  of  villany  among  the  Moors  of  Africa  than  Englishmen  experi- 
enced in  Russia  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Paul,  and  particularly  in 
Petersburg.  They  were  compelled  to  wear  a  dress  regulated  by  the 
police  ;  and  as  every  officer  had  a  different  notion  of  the  mode  of 
observing  these  regulations,  they  were  constantly  liable  to  be  inter- 
rupted in  the  streets  and  public  places  and  treated  with  impertinence. 
The  dress  consisted  of  a  cocked  hat,  or,  for  want  of  one,  a  round  hat 
pinned  up  with  three  corners  ;  a  long  cue  ;  a  single-breasted  coat  and 
waistcoat  ;  knee-buckles  instead  of  strings  ;  and  buckles  in  the  shoes. 
Orders  were  given  to  arrest  any  person  seen  in  pantaloons.  A  servant 
was  taken  out  of  his  sledge,  and  caned  in  the  streets,  for  having  too 
thick  a  neckcloth  ;  and  if  it  had  been  too  thin  he  would  have  met  with 
a  similar  punishment.  After  every  precaution,  the  dress,  when  put  on, 
never  satisfied  ;  either  the  hat  was  not  straight  on  the  head,  the  hair 
too  short,  or  the  coat  was  not  cut  square  enough.  A  lady  at  court 
wore  her  hair  rather  lower  in  her  neck  than  was  consistent  with  the 
decree,  and  she  was  ordered  into  close  confinement,  to  be  fed'  on  bread 
and  water.  A  gentleman's  hair  fell  a  little  over  his  forehead  while 
dancing  at  a  ball  ;  a  police  officer  attacked  him  with  great  rudeness  and 
abuse,  and  told  him,  if  he  did  not  instantly  cut  his  hair,  he  would  find 
a  soldier  who  would  shave  his  head,  as  criminals  are  punished. 

'  The  sledge  of  Count  Razumovsky  was,  by  the  Emperor's  orders, 
broken  into  small  pieces,  while  he  stood  by  and  directed  the  work. 
The  horses  had  been  found  with  it  in  the  streets  without  their  driver. 
It  happened  to  be  of  a  blue  colour,  and  the  Count's  servants  wore  red 
liveries,  upon  which  a  ukase  was  immediately  published,  prohibiting 
throughout  the  Empire  of  All  the  Russias  the  use  of  blue  colours  in 
ornamenting  sledges,  and  red  liveries. 

'  Coming  down  the  street  called  the  Perspective,  the  Emperor  per- 
ceived a  nobleman  who  was  taking  his  wralk,  and  had  stopped  to  look 
at  some  workmen  who  were  planting  trees  by  the  Emperor's  order. 
"  What  are  you  doing?"  said  he.  "Merely  seeing  the  men  work," 
replied  the  nobleman.  "  Oh  !  is  that  your  employment?  Take  off  his 
pelisse,  and  give  him  a  spade  !  There,  now  work  yourself  !  " 

I 


H4  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

1  When  enraged,  he  lost  all  command  of  himself,  which  sometimes 
gave  rise  to  very  ludicrous  scenes.  The  courtiers  knew  very  well  when 
a  storm  was  coming  on,  by  a  trick  which  he  had  in  those  moments  of 
blowing  from  his  under  lip  against  the  end  of  his  nose.  In  one  of  his 
furious  passions,  flourishing  his  cane  about,  he  struck  by  accident  the 
branch  of  a  large  glass  lustre,  and  broke  it.  As  soon  as  he  perceived 
what  had  happened,  he  attacked  the  lustre  in  good  earnest,  and  did  not 
give  up  his  work  until  he  had  entirely  demolished  it.' — Clarke's 
1  Travels. ' 

The  eccentricities  of  the  Emperor  wore  out  even  the 
Russian  spirit  of  submission  at  last. 

'  Pahlen  collected  about  fifty  conspirators,  and  on  the  night  of  March  23 
increased  their  number  by  releasing  some  officers  from  prison,  arrested 
that  evening  (it  is  said,  at  his  instigation),  and  he  impressed  on  them 
that  their  only  hope  of  life  was  by  the  Emperor's  deposition.  He 
provided  for  every  contingency,  and  secured  both  Alexander  and 
Constantine  by  locking  them  up  in  their  rooms,  lest  they  should  be 
moved  at  the  important  moment  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  their  father. 
All  those  connected  with  the  plot  met  at  eight  o'clock  at  the  house  of 
General  Talitzin.  .  .  .  On  this  last  day  of  his  life  Paul  was  particularly 
tranquil.  He  appeared  at  the  morning  parade,  where  he  wrote  a  letter 
to  Bonaparte  on  the  crown  of  his  hat,  and  went  to  the  school  for 
military  orphans,  where  800  children  were  boarded  and  instructed  at 
his  cost.  It  was  a  favourite  walk;  and  he  returned  to  the  palace  to  his 
wife's  sitting-room  at  half-past  five,  when  her  younger  children  were 
with  her.  He  spoke  to  her  tenderly,  and  brought  her  a  piece  of 
embroidery  from  the  military  school.  He  took  his  two  youngest 
sons  on  his  knee,  and  remained  with  them  some  little  time.  As  he 
was  leaving  the  room,  Nicholas,  who  was  four  and  a  half  years  old,  said 
to  him,  "  Father,  why  are  you  called  Paul  the  First  ?"  for  he  had  been 
studying  the  imperial  monograms  which  were  entwined  with  the 
figure  I  in  several  parts  of  the  room.  "  Because  no  one  of  that  name 
ruled  before  me,"  said  the  Emperor.  "  Oh  !  then,"  said  the  boy, 
"I  shall  be  called  Nicholas  the  First."  "If  you  ever  ascend  the 
throne,"  said  his  father,  abruptly.  He  stood  as  if  lost  in  thought, 
fixing  his  eyes  on  his  son,  and  then  kissed  him  passionately.  He  spent 
the  evening  with  the  Princess  Gagariue  ;  and  more  than  one  of  the 
conspirators,  including  Nicholas  Zoubof,  had  supper  with  them.  He 
spoke  to  her  of  Alexander  in  such  a  threatening  manner  that,  when  he 


THE  MICHAEL  PALACE.  115 

left  her,  she  sent  a  slip  of  paper  to  the  prince,  begging  him  to  escape. 
"Before  many  days,"  said  Paul,  "everyone  will  be  astonished  by 
seeing  heads  fall  that  were  once  very  dear  to  me." 

'  The  Emperor  retired  as  usual  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock.  .  .  . 
An  hour  afterwards  the  conspirators  appeared.  The  drawbridge  was 
pulled  up  for  the  night,  but  they  crossed  the  frozen  ditch,  disconcerted 
for  a  moment  by  the  crows  in  the  lime-trees  of  the  Summer  Garden 
setting  up  a  loud  njoise.  Benningsen,  Plato  and  Nicholas  Zoubof, 
Tashwill  and  several  more,  all  masked,  led  the  first  detachment  to 
penetrate  into  the  Emperor's  bedroom,  while  the  rest  waited  below  to 
follow  if  necessary.  Officers  were  placed  on  duty  instead  of  ordinary 
sentinels  at  the  various  points,  but  no  artifice  could  induce  the  faithful 
hussar  who  stood  at  Paul's  door  to  leave  his  post.  As  the  Emperor's 
aide-de-camp  was  admitted  to  bring  despatches  at  any  time  in  the  day 
or  night,  he  led  them  without  difficulty  as  far  as  the  library,  and  told 
the  hussar  to  open  the  bedroom  door,  for  he  brought  important 
despatches  to  his  Majesty.  The  man  opened  the  door,  but  immediately, 
suspecting  something  was  wrong,  shut  it  again,  and  called  the  Emperor. 
The  conspirators  struck  him  down  and  disarmed  him,  but  he  escaped 
covered  with  blood  to  summon  assistance,  and  was  seized  and  detained 
by  the  second  detachment,  while  the  first  forced  their  way  into  the 
room.  Benningsen  and  Zoubof,  in  full  uniform,  with  their  swords  in 
their  hands,  advanced  first.  The  bed  was  empty,  and  for  an  instant 
they  thought  the  Emperor  had  fled,  but  in  a  moment  he  reappeared 
from  behind  the  screen,  bringing  a  sword  from  the  recess.  He  was  half- 
dressed  and  seemed  confused,  so  as  hardly  to  recognise  them  ;  and  the 
large  room  was  only  lighted  with  one  night-lamp. 

'  "  Sire,"  said  Benningsen,  "you  are  a  prisoner,  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  Be  composed  and  sign  this  paper,  and  your  life 
will  be  safe  ; "  and  he  handed  to  him  a  deed  requiring  his  abdication. 
But  as  Paul  read  it  his  anger  rose  ;  he  accused  those  w-ho  had  drawn  it 
up- of  ingratitude,  and  said  he  had  loaded  them  with  benefits.  He 
declared  he  would  rather  die  than  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  son,  and  he 
tore  up  the  paper  and  threw  it  at  his  feet. 

'  At  this  moment  the  second  detachment  was  heard  approaching, 
and  Benningsen,  who  had  locked  the  door,  went  to  open  it  to  them. 
Some  state  that  Paul  took  the  opportunity  to  reach  the  window,  and 
severely  cut  his  hand,  being  dragged  down  again  by  Zoubof  and  Tash- 
will ;  others,  that  the  cut  was  given  by  Tash will's  sword,  which  he  tried 
to  wrench  out  of  his  hand  by  seizing  hold  of  the  blade  ;  and  that  this 
nobleman,  who  had  sworn  to  revenge  his  own  dismissal  from  office,  laid 

I  2 


ii6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

hold  of  the  Tsar  directly  lie  threw  down  the  deed  of  abdication,  com- 
pelled him  to  loose  his  weapon  by  breaking  his  arm  with  a  blow,  and, 
assisted  by  the  rest,  beat  him  to  force  him  to  abdicate,  till  he  was  so 
much  injured  that  they  thought  it  better  to  put  him  to  death.  At  any 
rate,  when  the  second  detachment  entered  it  found  Paul  struggling 
violently  with  Tashwill  and  four  others  ;  the  lamp  was  overturned,  and 
until  another  was  procured,  after  some  delay,  they  fought  in  darkness. 
Paul  was  heard  to  ask  what  they  had  to  complain  of  from  him,  and 
several  answered  that  he  had  tyrannised  over  them  for  four  years,  and 
they  ought  to  have  settled  matters  with  him  long  ago.  Benningsen 
said  that  he  implored  the  Emperor  not  to  resist,  for  his  life  was  at 
stake  ;  but  Savary  declares  that  he  loaded  his  victim  with  insults  and 
abuse,  and  used  to  boast  of  it  afterwards  when  he  commanded  the 
Russian  army  in  Germany.  Paul  resisted  for  a  long  time,  and  was 
struck  by  the  butt-end  of  a  pistol,  which  fractured  his  skull,  and  drew 
from  him  a  shriek,  when  the  leaders  of  the  conspiracy,  afraid  of  a  rescue, 
closed  in  upon  him,  and  held  him  down  while  the  rest  compressed  him 
round  the  waist  with  an  officer's  scarf,  intended  to  tie  his  feet.  They 
dared  not  strangle  him  round  the  neck,  lest  he  should  be  much  dis- 
figured, as  the  body  would  lie  in  state  ;  but  when  it  was  given  over  to 
the  surgeons  for  embalming,  it  presented  the  most  unmistakable  signs 
of  violence.  Besides  a  broken  arm,  and  the  wound  on  the  hand  and 
head,  one  eye  had  been  put  out,  and  he  was  bruised  from  head  to  foot. 
Benningsen  kept  his  foot  over  the  Emperor's  mouth  while  Zoubof  and 
Tashwill  deliberately  adjusted  the  scarf.  Paul  took  the  heel  of  the 
boot  off  with  his  teeth,  which  penetrated  to  the  officer's  skin,  and  caused 
him  to  raise  it  for  an  instant,  when  the  Emperor,  for  the  first  time, 
asked  their  mercy.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  give  me  one  moment  to 
commend  my  soul  to  God  ! "  but  he  was  silenced  almost  before  he  had 
completed  his  sentence,  and  Tashwill  and  Zoubof — or,  others  say, 
Benningsen — pulled  at  each  end  of  the  scarf  till  he  expired. 

'  Though  the  walls  of  the  palace  are  very  thick,  the  confusion  in  the 
Emperor's  bedchamber  reached  the  other  parts  of  the  building.  The 
English  cook,  in  great  alarm,  escaped  from  the  private  kitchen,  and 
rushed  off  to  an  English  merchant's  house  in  the  city  to  report  that  the 
Tsar  was  being  murdered.  Constantine,  who  was  unacquainted  with  the 
conspiracy,  tried  to  go  to  his  father's  aid,  but  found  himself  locked  in  his 
room.  The  Empress  attempted  to  make  her  way  through  the  folding- 
doors  separating  her  rooms  from  her  husband's,  and,  finding  them 
locked,  went  the  other  way,  but  was  intercepted  in  the  library  by  a 
detachment  with  strict  orders  not  to  let  her  pass.  Here  she  was  joined 


THE  MICHAEL  PALACE.  117 

by  her  daughters,  Mary  and  Catherine,  with  their  governess,  who, 
aware  that  a  movement  was  going  on  against  the  Emperor,  tried  to 
tranquillise  her  by  assuring  her  that  the  rest  of  the  family  would  be  safe. 
She  persisted  in  trying  to  pass  the  soldiers,  when  Benningsen  appeared 
from  her  husband's  room,  and  she  immediately  appealed  to  him,  and 
asked  if  she  was  a  prisoner.  He  answered  she  was  ;  and  if  he  allowed 
her  to  proceed,  she  would  only  risk  her  life  needlessly.  He  added, 

"  The  Emperor  Alexander  " "  Alexander  !  "  she  interrupted,  "  who 

has  made  him  Emperor  ?  "  "  The  nation,  madame,"  replied  Benning- 
sen ;  "all  classes  were  concerned  in  it  :  military,  civilians,  and  courtiers. 
The  life  of  Paul  is  ended."  ' — From  C.  Joyneville,  '  Life  and  Times  of 
Alexander  /.' 

'  Si  les  hommes  se  taisent  en  Russie,  les  pierres  parlent,  et  parlent 
d'une  voix  lamentable.  Je  ne  m'etonne  pas  que  les  Russes  craignent 
et  negligent  leurs  vieux  monuments  ;  ce  sont  cles  temoins  de  leur  histoire, 
que  le  plus  souvent  ils  voudraient  oublier  :  quand  je  decouvris  les  noirs 
perrons,  les  profonds  canaux,  les  ponts  massifs,  les  peristyles  deserts  de 
ce  sinistre  palais,  j'en  demandai  le  nom,  etce  nom  me  rappella  malgre  moi 
la  catastroDhe  qui  fit  monter  Alexandre  sur  le  trone. ' — M.  de  Custine. 

All  spots  in  Russia  connected  with  royal  tragedies  are 
closed  to  the  public.  It  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  leave  to 
see  the  rooms  in  which  Paul  was  murdered,  and  which  may 
be  recognised  from  the  outside  by  their  darkened  windows 
on  the  second  story.  The  Emperor  Alexander  I.  would 
never  enter  them.  The  palace  is  now  used  as  a  School  of 
Engineers.  Exact  models  of  all  the  fortified  places  in  Russia 
are  kept  in  one  of  the  halls.  These  include  the  castles  of 
the  Dardanelles,  whose  presence  here  indicates  the  way  in 
which  they  are  regarded  in  Russia,  and  recall  the  saying  of 
Alexander,  '  II  faut  avoir  les  clefs  de  notre  maison  dans  la 
poche.' 

A  collection  of  Ukases  upon  military  defence  is  preserved 
here,  many  of  them  bearing  the  disconnected  handwriting  of 
'Ickathrina'  (Catherine  II.),  which  contrasts  badly  with  the 
fine  signatures  of  her  grandsons  Alexander  and  Nicholas. 


uS  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

On  the  further  side  of  the  palace,  in  a  desolate  grass- 
grown  space,  is  the  equestrian  statue  which  Paul,  as  heir- 
apparent,  erected  to  Peter  the  Great,  inscribed  '  Prodadu 
Prasnuk' — 'the  grandson  to  the  grandfather.' 

Hence  it  is  a  short  distance  to  the  Preobrajenski  Church 
(Spass  Preobrajenski  Sobor),  originally  founded  by  Peter  the 
Great,  but  rebuilt  1754.  It  is  a  museum  of  military  trophies 
taken  in  battle,  and  the  very  iron  railing  which  surrounds 
the  churchyard  is  made  from  Turkish  cannon. 

A  little  further  is  the  Taurida  Palace  (Taurichesksoi 
Dvorets),  built  1783  by  Catherine  II.,  and  given  by  her  to 
her  favourite,  Potemkin,  Prince  of  Taurida,  after  his  conquest 
of  the  Crimea,  but  eventually  repurchased  by  her.  It  was 
in  its  gardens  that  the  imperious  favourite,  Gregory  Orlof, 
used  to  give  the  Empress  his  arm,  and  force  her  to  take 
walking  exercise,  saying,  '  Kattinka,  we  must  be  cheerful  in 
order  to  be  well,  and  we  must  walk  in  order  to  be  cheerful.' 
It  was  here  that  Potemkin  (whom  the  Empress  is  frequently 
believed  to  have  secretly  married  in  1784)  gave  his  celebrated 
fetes.  It  is  said  that  the  favourite  was  indebted  for  his  for 
tunes  to  a  feather.  When,  in  the  revolution  which  gave  her 
the  throne,  the  Empress  appeared  at  the  head  of  the  guards, 
Potemkin,  a  young  cavalry  officer,  seeing  she  had  no  feather 
in  her  hat,  rode  up  to  her  and  presented  his. 

The  ball-room  had  20,000  waxlights.  Yet  the  Taurida 
Palace  is  a  characteristic  specimen  of  a  great  house  in  S. 
Petersburg  :  *  the  marble  is  all  false,  the  silver  is  plated 
copper,  the  pillars  and  statues  are  of  brick,  and  the  pictures 
copies.'  Here  we  may  imagine  Potemkin,  as  he  is  described 
in  the  letters  of  the  Prince  de  Ligne,  '  d'une  main  faisant 
des  signes  aux  femmes  qui  lui  plaisent,  et  de  I'autre  des 


THE    TAURIDA   PALACE.  119 

signes  de  croix.'  South  or  New  Russia  still  bears  witness  to 
his  administrative  genius,  but  many  are  the  stories  of  his 
insolence  to  his  contemporaries,  such  as  his  boxing  the  ears 
of  a  prince  who  applauded  one  of  his  jokes  by  clapping  his 
hands,  with,  '  What  ?  Do  you  take  me  for  an  actor  on  the 
stage  ? '  After  a  life  of  almost  unbounded  luxury,  the  end 
of  Potemkin  was  miserable.  Worn  out  at  an  early  age  by 
vice,  he  refused  to  be  treated  by  doctors,  and,  affirming  that 
the  strength  of  his  constitution  would  overcome  all  his  ail- 
ments, he  lived  on  salt  meats,  raw  turnips,  and  spirits.  In 
travelling  from  Jassy  to  Ochakow,  however,  his  sufferings 
became  so  great  that  he  could  not  bear  the  motion  of  the 
carriage  ;  his  servants  spread  a  carpet  for  him  under  a  tree, 
and  there  he  died. 

In  later  times  the  Taurida  Palace  was  inhabited  by  the 
Empress  Marie  Feodorovna,  widow  of  the  murdered.  Paul. 

'  Pour  arriver  dans  son  appartement,  il  faut  traverser  une  salle  bade 
par  le  prince  Potemkin  ;  cette  salle  est  d'une  grandeur  incomparable  ; 
un  jardin  d'hiver  en  occupe  une  partie,  et  on  voit  les  plantes  et  les 
arbres  a  travers  les  colonnes  qui  entourent  1'enceinte  du  milieu.  Tout 
est  colossal  dans  cette  demeure  ;  les  conceptions  du  prince  qui  1'a  con- 
struite  etaient  bizarrement  gigantesques.  II  faisait  batir  des  villes  en 
Crimee,  seulement  pour  que  1'imperatrice  les  vit  sur  son  passage  ;  il 
ordonnait  1'assaut  d'une  forteresse  pour  plaire  a  une  belle  femme,  la 
princesse  Dolgorouki,  qui  avait  dedaigne  son  hommage. ' — Madame  de 
StaSl. 

It  was  in  this  palace  that  King  Stanislaus  lived,  saying 
that  he  felt  more  like  a  king  there  than  he  had  ever  done 
upon  the  throne  of  Poland;  and  here  he  died. 

Beyond  the  Taurida  Palace,  beautifully  situated  at  a 
bend  of  the  Neva,  is  the  Smolnoi  Convent,  founded  by  the 
Empress  Marie,  who  has  a  simple  monument  in  the  church, 


120  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

which  is  ornamented  by  a  profusion  of  stoves  like  little 
chapels.  The  convent  is  now  a  seminary  for  eight  hundred 
young  ladies. 


We  have  now  probably  noticed  all  the  spots  which  will 
be  interesting  to  those  who  make  a  cursory  visit  to  S. 
Petersburg,  except  one— the  Museum  of  Imperial  Carriages. 
Many  of  these  are  indescribably  splendid.  Some  are  gilt 
all  over ;  others  are  exquisitely  painted.  In  many  the 
handles,  the  coats  of  arms,  even  the  steps,  are  encrusted 
either  with  real  diamonds  and  emeralds,  or  with  false  stones, 
which  are  quite  as  captivating,  and  safer  as  regards  the 
crowd  who  see  them  at  coronations.  There  are  miniature 
carriages  and  sledges  of  many  generations  of  Imperial 
children.  The  sledge  of  Peter  the  Great,  which  he  made 
himself,  is  like  a  cottage  inside,  with  mica  windows.  All 
his  luggage  was  contained  in  a  wooden  box  behind.  At  the 
end  of  the  collection  is  a  terrible  and  touching  memorial — 
the  carriage  of  Alexander  II.,  in  which  he  was  driving  just 
before  his  murder,  split  and  shivered  at  the  back  by  the  first 
bomb,  from  which  he  so  miraculously  escaped  ;  the  place  of 
the  absent  servant  shattered ;  the  cushions  upheaved  or 
thrown  down. 

Carriages  are  luxuries  of  such  recent  date  in  Russia  that 
even  under  Peter  the  Great  no  subject  except  the  rich  boyar 
Michel  Ivanovitch  Loukoff,  burgomaster  of  Archangel,  pos- 
sessed one.  All  the  great  Russian  world  coveted  it,  though  it 
had  only  cost  1,000  roubles.  Mentchikoff  wished  to  obtain 
it  ;  and  as  Loukoff  refused  to  part  with  it,  he  avenged  him- 


GENERAL  IMPRESSIONS.  121 

self  by  preventing  his  obtaining  an  inheritance  due  to  him 
from  his  wife.1 

'  Je  vous  ai  decrit  une  ville  sans  caractere,  plutot  pompeuse  qu'im- 
posante,  plus  vaste  que  belle,  remplie  d'edifices  sans  style,  sans  gout, 
sans  signification  historique.  Mais  pour  etre  complet,  c'est-a-dire 
vrai,  il  fallait  en  meme  temps  faire  mouvoir  a  vos  yeux,  dans  ce  cadre 
pretentieux  et  ridicule,  des  hommes  naturellement  gracieux,  et  qui, 
avec  leur  genie  oriental,  ont  su  s'approprier  une  ville  bade  pour  un 
peuple  qui  n'existe  nulle  part ;  car  Petersbourg  a  etc  fait  par  des 
hommes  riches,  et  dont  1'esprit  s'etait  forme  en  comparant,  sans  etude 
approfondie,  les  divers  pays  de  1'Europe.  .  .  .  Les  ingenieurs  euro- 
peens  sont  venus  dire  aux  Moscovites  comment  ils  devaient  construire 
et  orner  une  capitale  digne  de  1'admiration  de  PEurope,  et  ceux-ci,  avec 
leur  soumission  militaire,  ont  cede  a  la  force  du  commandement. 
Pierre  le  Grand  a  bati  Petersbourg  contre  les  Suedois  bien  plus  que  pour 
les  Russes  ;  mais  le  nature!  du  peuple  s'est  fait  jour  malgre  sa  defiance 
de  soi-meme  ;  et  c'est  a  cette  desobeissance  involontaire  que  la  Russia 
doit  son  cachet  d'originalite  :  rien  n'a  pu  effacer  le  caractere  primitif 
des  habitants  ;  ce  triomphe  des  facultes  innees  contre  une  education 
mal  dirigee  est  un  spectacle  interessant  pour  tout  voyageur  capable  de 
1'apprecier. ' — M.  de  Custine. 

The  same  impression,  probably,  is  left  on  the  minds  of 
all  who  have  visited  S.  Petersburg — a  prevailing  sense  of  the 
vastness  of  everything—  the  squares,  the  streets,  the  palaces, 
the  overgrown  desolate  suburbs ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  interest 
of  much  that  is  curious  and  strange,  a  weariness  of  a  city  so 
beautiless,  so  uncouth,  and  so  irksome  to  a  stranger  in  the 
bondage  of  its  petty  restraints. 

'  La  magnificence  est  le  caractere  de  tout  ce  qu'on  voit  en  Russie  ; 
le  genie  de  1'homme  ni  Jes  dons  de  la  nature  n'en  font  la  beaute.' — 
Madame  de  Sta'Jl. 

1  Victor  Tissot,  Riesses  et  Allcmands. 


122  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   III. 

EXCURSIONS  ROUND   S.  PETERSBURG. 

EXCEPTING  on  the  islands,  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  capital  has  no  beauty.     Perfectly  flat  of 
course,  it  is  often  marshy,  and  always  intensely  melancholy. 

'  Dans  ce  pays  sans  paysages  coulent  des  fleuves  immenses,  mais 
sans  couleur ;'  ils  coulent  a  travers  un  pays  grisatre,  dans  des  terrains 
sablonneux,  et  disparaissent  sous  des  coteaux  pas  plus  hauts  que 
des  digues,  et  brunis  par  des  forets  marecageuses.  On  sent  1'hiver 
et  la  mort  planer  sur  tous  ces  sites  :  la  lumiere  et  le  climat  du  Nord 
donnent  aux  objets  une  teinte  funebre  :  au  bout  de  quelques  semaines, 
le  voyageur  epouvante  se  croit  enterre  vif ;  il  voudrait  dechirer  son 
linceul  et  fuir  ce  cimetiere  sans  cloture  et  qui  n'a  de  bornes  que  celles 
de  la  vue  ;  il  lutte  de  toutes  ses  forces  pour  soulever  le  voile  de  plomb 
qui  le  separe  des  vivants.  N'allez  jamais  dans  le  Nord  pour  vous 
amuser,  a  moins  que  vous  ne  cherchiez  votre  amusement  dans  1'etude  ; 
car  il  y  a  beaucoup  a  etudier  ici.' — M.  de  Custine. 

'  II  y  a  tant  d'espace  en  Russie  que  tout  s'y  perd,  meme  des  cha- 
teaux, meme  la  population.  On  dirait  qu'on  traverse  un  pays  dont  la 
nation  vient  de  s'en  aller.  L'absence  d'oiseaux  ajoute  a  ce  silence  ; 
les  bestiaux  aussi  sont  rares,  ou  du  moins  ils  sont  places  a  une  grande 
distance  de  la  route.  L'etendue  fait  tout  disparaitre,  excepte  1'eten- 
due  meme,  qui  poursuit  1'imagination  comme  de  certaines  idees  meta- 
physiques,  dont  la  pensee  ne  peut  plus  se  debarrasser,  quand  elle  en  est 
une  fois  saisie.' — Madame  de  Stai'l. 

A  number  of  railway  stations  encircle  the  town.  From 
that  in  the  south-eastern  suburbs  we  took  the  train  to 


OR  A  NIENBA  UM.  1 2  3 

Oranienbaum,  which  is  situated  near  the  mouth  of  the  Neva, 
opposite  Cronstadt,  of  which  the  fortress  rises  like  a  great 
martello  tower  beyond  the  wide  estuary.  A  short  walk 
through  the  village  leads  from  the  station  to  the  steps  into 
the  gardens  of  the  palace.  This  is  an  exceedingly  pretty 
building  of  grey  and  yellow  colouring,  standing  on  a  high 
terrace,  approached  by  winding  staircases  from  the  broad 
walk  below,  by  the  side  of  which  nurses  may  constantly  be 
seen  sitting  with  the  Kakoshnik  (a  half-crescent  with  a  long 
pendent  veil)  on  their  heads,  watching  their  charges  at  play. 
A  chain  of  flowers  connects  the  palace  with  the  woods,  and 
as  a  residence  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything  more 
attractive  and  unpretending  than  this — the  lofty  terrace  so 
radiant  with  blossoms,  and  the  view  so  enchanting  of  deep- 
blue  sea  across  the  woods,  and  the  old-fashioned  gardens 
with -their  thickets  of  lilacs.  But  there  is  not  one  of  the 
imperial  residences  near  S.  Petersburg  which  is  haunted 
by  the  memory  of  more  terrible  dramas  than  Oranienbaum. 
It  was  originally  built  by  the  famous  Mentchikoff,  when  he 
was  at  the  summit  of  his  power.  This  extraordinary  person 
when  a  boy,  known  as  Alexaschka — the  little  Alexander — 
struck  the  fancy  of  Peter  the  Great,1  who  took  him  into  his 
service,  in  which  his  extreme  subservience,  which  allowed 
the  Tsar  to  beat  and  kick  him  like  a  dog,  led  to  his  rapid 
advancement.  Eventually  his  influence  was  such  that  he 
was  permitted  to  give  audiences,  personating  his  sovereign, 
whilst  Peter  appeared  as  a  private  individual  in  his  suite. 
His  good  fortune  continued  under  Catherine  I.,  who  ordered 
her  successor,  Peter  II.,  to  marry  his  daughter.  But,  under 

1  There  seems  to  be  no  foundation  for  the  story  that  Mentchikoff,  in  his  boyhood, 
sold  pies  in  the  streets  of  Moscow,  whatever  he  may  have  done  for  amusement  in  the 
camp  at  Preobrajensky.  See  Schuyler's  Life  of  Peter  the  Great.  . 


124  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

this  prince,  the  insolence  of  Mentchikoff  led,  in  1727,  to 
his  imprisonment  at  Beresof,  where  he  lived  for  two  years 
and  a  half,  and  died  in  1729.  His  surviving  son  and 
daughter,  who  shared  his  imprisonment,  were  released 
under  the  Empress  Anne.  Having  been  confiscated  on  the 
attainder  of  Mentchikoff,  the  palace  became  the  favourite 
residence  of  Peter  III.,  who  added  its  wings. 

Thus  Oranienbaum  became  the  scene  of  most  of  the 
early  loves  of  his  wife,  the  famous  Catherine,  every  summer- 
house  having  its  especial  reminiscence  of  a  rendezvous. 
There  are  also  some  remains  of  the  little  fortress  whence 
Peter  III.  was  dragged  to  Ropschka,  where  he  was  assas- 
sinated by  Alexis  Orlof  and  his  associates. 

'  Ruine  moclerne,  ou  la  politique  a  plus  de  part  que  le  temps.  Mais 
le  silence  commande,  la  solitude  forcee  qui  regnent  autour  de  ces  debris 
maudits,  nous  retracent  precisement  ce  qu'on  voudrait  nous  cacher  ; 
la,  comme  ailleurs,  le  mensonge  officiel  est  annule  par  les  faits  :  1'histoire 
est  un  miroir  magique  ou  les  peuples  voient,  apres  la  mort  des  hommes 
qui  furent  influents  dans  les  affaires,  toutes  leurs  inutiles  grimaces.  Les 
personnes  ont  passe,  mais  leurs  physionomies  restent  gravees  sur  cet 
inexorable  cristal.  .  .  .  Si  je  n'avais  su  que  le  chateau  de  Pierre  III. 
etait  demoli,  j'aurais  du  le  deviner ;  mais  ce  qui  m'etonne  en  voyant  le 
prix  qu'on  met  ici  a  faire  oublier  le  passe,  c'est  que  Ton  y  conserve 
quelque  chose.  Les  noms  memes  devraient  disparaitre  avec  les  murs.' 
M.  de  Custine. 

During  the  few  months  of  his  reign,  Peter  had  rendered 
himself  obnoxious  not  only  to  his  wife,  but  to  the  Russian 
clergy,  by  the  contempt  which  he  evinced  for  the  national 
religion.  His  offences  of  this  kind  began  even  in  the  cham- 
ber where  his  aunt,  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  was  lying  in 
state. 

'  On  le  voyait  chuchoter  et  sourire  avec  les  dames  de  service, 
tourner  les  pretres  en  ridicule,  chercher  querelle  aux  officiers,  aux 


ORANIENBA  UM.  1 2  5 

sentinelles  menie,  sur  le  pli  de  leur  cravate,  sur'le  grandeur  de  leurs 
boucles  et  la  coupe  de  leur  uniforme.' — Princess  Dashkof. 

Peter  alienated  the  army  by  attempting  to  introduce 
Prussian  uniforms  and  exercises,  and  by  suppressing  the 
bodyguard  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth.  He  enraged  the 
whole  Court  by  the  ridiculous  rigour  of  his  etiquette,  and 
the  maids  of  honour  in  particular  by  forcing  them  to 
courtesy  in  the  German  fashion.  Aristocratic  society  in 
Russia  had  already  become  sufficiently  refined  to  be  dis- 
gusted by  his  habits. 

'  La  vie  que  1'empereur  mene  est  la  plus  honteuse  ;  il  passe  les 
soirees  a  fumer,  a  boire  de  la  biere,  et  ne  cesse  ces  deux  exercices  qu'a 
cinq  ou  six  heures  du  matin,  et  presque  toujours  ivre-mort.  ...  II  a 
redouble  d'egard  pour  Mile.  Voronzof;  il  faut  avouer  que  c'est  un 
gout  bizarre  :  elle  est  sans  esprit  ;  quant  a  la  figure,  c'est  tout  ce  qu'on 
voit  de  pis  ;  elle  ressemble  en  tout  point  a  une  servante  d'auberge  de 
mauvais  aloi.' — M.  de  Breteuil. 

At  length  the  Empress  discovered  or  fancied  that  her 
husband  intended  to  divorce  her  to  marry  his  mistress, 
Elizabeth  Voronzof,  and  to  shut  her  up  in  a  convent,  disin- 
heriting her  son  Paul  in  favour  of  his  cousin  Ivan  VI. 
From  this  time  she  watched  and  waited.  Suddenly,  accom- 
panied by  her  lover,  Alexis  Orlof,  and  his  brother,  she  fled 
from  the  palace,  and,  placing  herself  at  the  head  of  the  army 
in  S.  Petersburg,  marched  upon  Oranienbaum  at  the  head 
of  20,000  men.  Peter  escaped  to  Cronstadt,  but  Catherine 
had  already  sent  to  secure  the  fortress,  and  when  he  dis- 
embarked exclaiming  '  I  am  the  Tsar,'  the  admiral  met  him 
with  '  The  Tsar  no  longer  exists.'  He  returned  to  Oranien- 
baum, where,  in  the  words  of  Frederick  II. ,  he  abdicated 
quietly  '  like  a  child  who  is  sent  to  bed.'  His  wife  des 


126  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

patched  him  under  a  guard  to  Ropschka,1  twenty-seven  versts 
distant,  where,  four  days  after,  Catherine  and  Orlof  agreed 
that  he  should  die  of  dysentery. 

'  Les  soldats  etaient  etonnes  de  ce  qu'ils  avaient  fait  :  ils  ne  conce- 
vaient  pas  par  quel  enchantement  on  les  avail  conduits  jusqu'a  detroner 
le  petit-fils  de  Pierre  le  Grand  pour  donner  la  couronne  a  une  Alle  • 
mande.  La  plupart,  sans  projet  et  sans  idee,  avaient  ete  entraines  par 
le  mouvement  et  les  autres  ;  et  chacun,  rentre  dans  sa  bassesse,  apres 
que  le  plaisir  de  disposer  d'une  couronne  fut  evanoui,  ne  sentit  plus 
que  des  remords.  Les  matelots,  qu'on  n'avait  point  interesses  dans  le 
soulevement,  reprochaient  publiquement  aux  gardes  dans  les  cabarets 
d'avoir  vendu  leur  empereur  pour  la  biere.  La  pitie,  qui  justifie  meme 
les  plus  grands  criminels,  se  faisait  entendre  dans  tous  les  cceurs.  Une 
nuit,  une  troupe  de  soldats  attaches  a  I'imperatrice  s'ameuta  par  une 
vaine  crainte,  disant  "que  leur  mere  etait  en  danger."  II  fallut  la 
reveiller  pour  qu'ils  la  vissent.  La  nuit  suivante,  nouvelle  emeute  plus 
dangereuse.  Tant  que  la  vie  de  1'empereur  laissait  un  pretexte  aux 
inquietudes,  on  pensa  qu'on  n'aurait  point  de  tranquillite. 

'  Un  des  comtes  Orlof,  et  un  nomme  Teplof,  furent  ensemble  vers  ce 
malheureux  prince  ;  ils  lui  annoncerent,  en  entrant,  qu'ils  etaient  venus 
pour  diner  avec  lui,  et  selon  1'usage  des  Russes,  on  apporta  avant  le 
repas  des  verres  d'eau-de-vie.  Celui  que  but  1'empereur  etait  un  verre 
de  poison.  Soit  qu'ils  eussent  hate  de  rapporter  leur  nouvelle,  soit 
que  1'horreur  meme  de  leur  action  la  leur  fit  precipiter,  ils  voulurent 
un  moment  apres  lui  verser  un  second  verre.  Deja  ses  entrailles  bru- 
laient,  et,  1'atrocite  de  leurs  physionomies  les  lui  rendant  suspects,  il 
refusa  ce  verre  ;  ils  mirent  de  la  violence  a  le  lui  faire  prendre,  et 
lui  a  les  repousser.  Dans  ce  terrible  debat,  pour  etouffer  ses  cris 
qui  commen9aient  a  se  faire  entendre  de  loin,  ils  se  precipiterent  sur 
lui,  le  saisirent  a  la  gorge,  et  le  renverserent  ;  mais  comme  il  se 
defendait  avec  toutes  les  forces  que  donne  le  dernier  desespoir,  et  qu'ils 
evitaient  de  lui  porter  aucune  blessure,  reduits  a  craindre  pour  eux- 
memes,  ils  appelerent  a  leur  secours  deux  officiers  charges  de  sa  garde, 
qui  a  ce  moment  se  tenaient  en  dehors  a  la  porte  de  sa  prison.  C'etait 
le  plus  jeune  des  princes  Eariatinski  et  un  nomme  Potemkin,  age 
de  dix-sept  ans.  Ils  avaient  montre  tant  de  zele  dans  la  conspira- 
tion,  que,  malgre  leur  extreme  jeunesse,  on  les  avait  charges  de 
cette  garde  :  ils  accoururent,  et  trois  de  ces  meurtriers  ayant  noue  et 

1  See  Tooke's  Life  of  Catherine  II. 


ORANIENBA  UM.  1 27 

serre  une  serviette  autour  du  cou  de  ce  malheureux  enipereur,  tandis 
qu'Orlof  de  ses  deux  genoux  lui  pressait  la  poitrine  et  le  tenait  etouffe,  ils 
acheverent  ainsi.  de  1'etrangler,  et  il  demeura  sans  vie  entre  leurs 
mains. 

'  On  ne  sait  pas  avec  certitude  quelle  part  I'imperatrice  cut  a  cet 
evenement ;  mais  ce  qu'on  peut  assurer,  c'est  que,  le  jour  meme  qu'il 
se  passa,  cette  princssse  commen9ant  son  diner  avec  beaucoup  de  gaiete, 
on  vit  entrer  ce  meme  Orlof  echevele,  couvert  de  sueur  et  de  poussiere, 
ses  habits  dechires,  sa  physionomie  agitee,  plein  d'horreur  et  de  pre- 
cipitation. En  entrant,  ses  yeux  etincelants  et  troubles  chercherent  les 
yeux  de  I'imperatrice.  Elle  se  leva  en  silence,  passa  dans  un  cabinet 
ou  il  la  suivit,  et  quelques  instants  apres  elle  y  fit  appeler  le  comte 
Panin,  deja  nomine  son  ministre  ;  elle  lui  apprit  que  Pempereur  etait 
mort.  Panin  conseilla  de  laisser  passer  une  nuit  et  de  repandre  la 
nouvelle  le  lendemain,  comme  si  1'on  1'avait  re9ue  pendant  la  nuit. 
Ce  conseil  ayant  ete  agree,  l'imperatrice  rentra  avec  le  meme  visage 
et  continua  son  diner  avec  la  meme  gaiete.  Le  lendemain,  quand  on 
eut  repandu  que  Pierre  etait  mort  d'une  colique  hemorroidale,  elle 
parut  baignee  de  pleurs,  et  publia  sa  douleur  par  un  £dit.*-iJ?«/A*2«r, 
'  Anecdotes  sur  la  Russie '  imprimes  a  la  suite  de  son  Histoire  de 
Pologne. 

'  It  was  very  sad  for  such  a  humane  man  as  I  was  to  be 
obliged  to  carry  out  what  was  required  of  my  obedience  in 
this  case,'  said  Orlof  nine  years  later  !  Many  Russians 
have  looked  upon  Peter  III.  as  a  martyr  for  their  ancient 
customs,  and  a  tradition  even  asserts  that  he  still  lives  in 
Siberia,  whence  he  will  be  summoned  by  the  great  bell  of 
the  Kremlin  of  Moscow  penetrating  so  far.1 

We  took  a  carriage  from  Oranienbaum  and  drove  to 
Peterhof,  about  five  miles  distant.  This  is  much  the  best 
way  of  approaching  the  Russian  Windsor.  The  country 
recalls  Sweden  in  the  freshness  of  its  green  pastures,  the 


1  Ropscha,  of  terrible  memories,  still  exists,  and  should  be  visited  by  students  of 
Russian  history.  The  road  thither  from  S.  Petersburg  passes  Strelna,  a  palace  of 
the  Grand-Duke  Constantine,  originally  built  by  Peter  the  Great,  and  rebuilt  by 
Alexander  I. 


121 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


detached  groups  of  self-sown  birches  and  firs,  and  the  lovely 
glints  of  sea  between  them.  On  the  rising  ground  to  the 
right  are  several  little  villas  half  buried  in  the  woods,  and 
the  miniature  palace  of  Serieffsky,  which  was  given  to  the 
Grand-Duchess  Marie  by  her  father  upon  her  marriage  with 
the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg.  Imperceptibly  the  surroundings 
become  more  trim  and  cared  for,  gravel  walks  wind  through 
the  lovely  woods,  and  we  reach  the  shore  of  a  little  lake,  on 


HOUSE   OF    PETER   THE  GREAT,    MARLY. 

the  bank  ot  which  stands  Marly,  the  favourite  cottage  of 
Peter  the  Great,  scarcely  altered  from  his  time,  and  con- 
taining his  kitchen  with  its  old  tiles  and  stove,  and  his 
bed-room,  with  its  old  bed  and  toilet-table  and  even  his 
old  dressing-gown  carefully  preserved.  The  cottage  is  well 
worth  seeing,  and  a  great  contrast  to  the  gorgeous  gilding 
and  decoration  of  all  the  larger  palaces.  The  lake  in  front  is 
declared  to  be  full  offish,  some  of  which,  of  great  antiquity, 
have  chains  round  their  necks,  placed  there  by  Peter  the 


PETERHOF. 


129 


Great.  They  are  said  to  come  up  to  feed  whenever  their 
dinner-bell  is  rung ;  but,  alas,  the  bell  was  rung  for  us  and 
no  fish  appeared. 

Near  Marly  is  one  of  the  finest  fountains  in  Russia.  A 
beautiful  copy  (not  model)  of  a  Greek  temple  of  red  and 
grey  marble,  with  a  white  marble  plinth  and  pedestal,  rises, 


PALACE   OF    PETERHOF. 


in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  from  a  marble  basin  like  a 
miniature  lake,  into  which  tall  fountains  springing  between 
each  of  the  pillars,  and  many  mouths  in  the  basement,  are 
splashing  and  foaming.  Hence  we  passed  through  a  suc- 
cession of  fairy  water-scenes,  magnificent  jets  in  the  recesses 
of  the  forest,  water-nymphs  veiled  by  the  spray  of  a  hundred 
intersecting  cascades,  till,  while  crossing  a  bridge,  we  reached 

K 


130  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  climax  of  the  whole,  and  looked  up,  between  wooded 
avenues,  to  the  great  and  beautiful  palace  of  Peterhof, 
beneath  which  the  whole  hillside  was  a  turmoil  of  exquisite 
fountains,  leaping  high  into  the  tops  of  the  trees,  dashing 
over  precipices,  sporting  round  tritons  and  naiads,  en- 
wreathing,  embracing,  intersecting,  and  illuminated  into  a 
splendour  of  prismatic  colouring  by  the  sun  of  a  cloudless 
sky. 

Long,  long  had  we  to  wait  before  the  various  little  forms 
and  ceremonies  which  attend  upon  a  royal  portal,  in  this 
land  of  useless  formalities,  were  sufficiently  satisfied  to  allow 
the  customary  silver  keys  to  open  the  doors  of  the  palace 
to  us  ;  but  meanwhile  it  was  delightful  to  have  the  old- 
fashioned  gardens  to  sit  in,  with  their  brilliant  flowers,  and 
background  of  clipped  hornbeam.  The  staircase  where 
Peter  III.  was  stripped,  after  his  capture,  of  his  orders  and 
jewels,  and  even  of  all  his  clothes  but  his  shirt,  leads  to 
the  principal  apartments.  Here,  the  pictures  for  the  most 
part  represent  the  naval  glories,  as  those  of  Oranienbaum 
the  military  glories,  of  Russia.  One  room,  however,  is  en- 
tirely covered  with  portraits  by  Count  Rotari,  some  of  them 
admirable  as  paintings,  and  all  full  of  life  and  variety. 
Catherine  II.  sent  the  artist  to  travel  over  Russia  and  to 
paint  every  good-looking  peasant  girl  he  saw.  The  '  White 
Room '  is  charming,  with  its  polished  white  walls  and  furniture. 
Other  rooms  recall  the  first  years  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth 
(1741-1762),  daughter  of  Peter  the  Great,  in  whom  the 
people  welcomed  not  only  the  substitution  of  the  race  of 
Peter  for  that  of  Ivan,  but  the  triumph  of  the  national  over 
the  German  party.  The  chamber  of  the  Empress,  with  its 
comfortable  dais,  has  two  portraits  of  her,  one  naked  as  an 


PETERHOF.  131 

infant,  the  other  robed  as  a  sovereign.  Here  she  used  to 
listen  to  the  inflated  verses  of  the  poet  Lomonossof,  who 
saluted  her  as  the  Astrea  who  had  restored  the  golden  age, 
the  Moses  who  had  rescued  Russia  from  the  darkness  of 
Egyptian  slavery,  the  Noah  who  had  preserved  it  from  the 
foreign  deluge.  But  to  posterity  the  character  of  Elizabeth 
has  not  seemed  so  admirable.  . 

'  It  is  supposed  that  the  government  of  Elizabeth  cost  every  year  to 
her  empire  at  least  one  thousand  of  her  subjects  by  private  imprison- 
ment, which,  during  the  twenty  years  and  upwards  that  she  reigned, 
makes  the  number  amount  to  above  twenty  thousand.  Nothing  was 
more  easy  than  to  obtain  a  secret  order  for  this  purpose  by  the  flatterers 
of  all  ranks  that  swarmed  about  her  person.  It  was  sufficient  for  one 
of  her  maids  of  honour  to  think  herself  slighted,  for  getting  an  order  to 
have  a  person  taken  out  of  bed  in  the  night,  carried  away  blindfolded 
and  gagged,  and  immured  underground,  there  to  drag  out  the  re- 
mainder of  life  in  a  solitary  and  loathsome  dungeon,  without  ever  being 
charged  with  any  crime,  or  even  knowing  in  what  part  of  the  country 
he  was.  On  the  disappearance  of  any  such  person  from  his  family, 
from  his  relations,  from  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance,  it  was  highly 
dangerous  to  make  any  inquiries  after  him.  "  He  has  disappeared," 
was  held  a  sufficient  answer  to  questions  of  that  nature.' — Tooke's  '  Life 
of  Catherine  II. ' 

Endless  is  the  variety  of  walks  and  drives  in  the  lovely 
woods  around  Peterhof.  Formerly,  these  were  lighted  up 
for  one  night  in  every  summer — generally  on  the  birthday 
of  the  Empress — a  fete  which  reached  its  greatest  magnifi- 
cence in  the  time  of  Catherine  II.  These  illuminations, 
when  the  trees  disappeared  in  their  jewelled  decorations, 
recalled  the  Bagdad  of  the  '  Arabian  Nights '  or  the  more 
famous  Babylon  of  Semiramis.  Eighteen  hundred  men 
were  employed  in  the  lighting,  and  accomplished  it  in  thirty- 
five  minutes.  In  a  pretty  situation  on  the  sea  shore,  is  the 
cottage-like  palace  of  Montplaisir.  Near  it  is  an  oak,  which 

K  2 


132  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Catherine  II.,  on  the  evening  before  the  revolution  which 
placed  her  on  the  throne,  observed  to  be  springing  from  an 
acorn,  and  which  she  then  herself  surrounded  with  little 
sticks  as  a  protection  :  her  long  reign  enabled  her  to  see  it 
grow  into  a  tree.1 

Znamenska  is  another  little  palace  built  by  an  English 
architect  for  the  wife  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  on  land 
which  had  been  given  to  her  by  her  brother-in-law  Alex- 
ander I.  It  has  charming  views  towards  Cronstadt  and 
S.  Petersburg.  Between  the  palace  of  Peterhof  and  the 
railway  is  a  large  lake  with  two  little  palaces  on  islets  called 
Isola  Bella  and  Isola  Madre,  which  also  belonged  to.  the 
Empress  Alexandra.  The  former  of  these  is  a  lovely  little 
Italian  villa  with  a  brilliant  garden,  whither,  in  happier  days, 
the  imperial  family  were  fond  of  resorting  for  tea,  and  whither 
strangers  are  ferried  across  by  boatmen  dressed  in  a  livery 
of  white  linen.  But  now  no  empress  can  attempt  to  fulfil 
what  used  to  be  looked  upon  as  her  duty  : — • 

*  Le  devoir  d'une  imperatrice  est  de  s'amuser  a  la  mort.' — M.  de 
Custine. 

If  the  return  from  Oranienbaum  or  Peterhof  be  made 
by  sea,  Cronstadt  may  be  visited,  the  fortified  port  which 
was  one  of  the  favourite  creations  of  Peter  the  Great,  and 
in  which  all  succeeding  emperors  have  taken  a  great  interest. 
It  was  with  truth  that  Lord  Durham  said  to  Nicholas,  '  Les 
vaisseaux  de  guerre  des  Russes  sontles  joujoux  de  1'empereur 
de  Russie.' 


See  notes  to  Tooke,  vol.  i.  p.  232. 


SERGL  133 

We  made  a  separate  excursion  to  visit  the  famous 
monastery  of  Sergi  (easily  accessible  by  rail),  though  it  is  on 
the  road  to  Peterhof,  the  road  which  the  Empress  Catherine 
found  so  dull  when  she  created  the  palace,  that  she  bestowed 
the  land  bordering  upon  it  upon  her  different  favourites,  on 
condition  that  they  should  build  residences  looking  out 
upon  the  highway,  and  thus  enliven  the  route  she  so  fre- 
quently traversed.  The  traveller  Swinton,  who  visited 
S.  Petersburg  in  her  reign,  says  :  '  Catherine  II.  does  not 
merely  measure  out  an  ell  of  ribbon  to  her  knights,  but 
measures  out  to  them,  besides,  a  mile,  a  league,  or  even  a 
latitude  of  acres  :  the  scale  of  her  bounty  is  as  magnificent 
as  that  of  her  Empire.'  These  country-houses  are  all 
deserted  till  May,  when  the  country  life  of  Russia  begins. 
Everyone  leaves  S.  Petersburg  at  that  time,  even  servants 
moving  their  families  into  some  country  lodging,  however 
poor.  The  first  burst  of  spring  occurs  about  S.  George's 
Day  (April  23),  when  the  cattle,  which  have  been  fed  in 
winter  with  straw,  and  emerge  like  skeletons  from  their 
stables,  are  brought  out  for  the  summer,  and  sprinkled  with 
holy  water  by  the  priest.  Then  the  upper  classes  send  out 
to  have  the  windows  of  their  villas  opened  and  their  rooms 
aired  from  the  damp  of  winter. 

'  "  When  winter  vanishes,  summer  zV."  It  is  not  the  work  of  a 
week,  or  a  day,  but  of  one  instant  ;  and  the  manner  of  it  exceeds 
belief.' — Clarke's  '  Travels. ,' 

The  heat  goes  on  increasing  till  after  S.  Elijah's  Day 
(July  20),  when  the  rolling  of  the  Saint's  chariot  is  believed 
to  be  heard  in  the  thunder.  '  Eternal  stillness  '  is  said  to 
be  the  essential  characteristic  of  monotonous  Russian  country 


134  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

life,  though  the  larger  houses  are  filled  with  guests,  to  whom 
an  invitation  generally  means  an  invitation  for  the  whole 
summer.  Nothing  is  so  much  wished  for  as  guests,  and  it 
is  a  fact  that  in  some  remote  country  places,  would-be 
passers-on  have  found  the  wheels  taken  off  their  tarantass 
to  compel  them  to  remain.  In  the  smaller  country  houses, 
the  living  rooms  divide  the  male  and  female  apartments. 
Wearisome  dullness  is  the  order  of  the  day.  The  men 
seldom  do  anything  but  sit  in  one  armchair  after  another 
and  smoke  ;  the  most  important  avocation  of  the  women  is 
ordering  dinner :  the  afternoon  siesta  is  a  welcome  interlude 
in  unutterable  boredom. 

Custine  speaks  of  one  of  these  houses  in  which  a  great 
lady  of  S.  Petersburg,  who  had  been  married  several  times, 
preserved  in  her  garden  the  tombs  of  her  different  husbands, 
whom  she  began  to  love  passionately  as  soon  as  they  were 
dead,  raising  mausoleums  and  chapels  to  them,  and  covering 
their  monuments  with  sentimental  epitaphs. 

'  It  is  a  proof  of  the  general  monotony  that  reigns  in  all  things  here, 
that  the  verst  stones  are  the  only  landmarks  in  this  desert.  People  will 
say,  for  instance,  "We  are  living  this  year  in  the  Peterhof  road,  at  the 
seventh  verst  ;  "  or  "  TheOrlof  Datscha  stands  at  the  eleventh  verst  ;  " 
"  We  will  breakfast  at  the  traiteur's  at  the  fourteenth  verst  ;  "  as  if 
these  milestones  were  pyramids.  But  so  it  is  ;  there  are  neither  valleys, 
brooks,  nor  smiling  villages  wherewith  to  distinguish  places ;  and 
people  can  find  their  way  only  by  reckoning  the  milestones.' — KoJiL 

The  fields  in  this  part  of  Russia  are  covered  in  summer 
with  '  Jean-Marie,'  a  pretty  yellow-rattle  with  a  plume  of 
blue  leaves  at  the  top  of  each  flower.  Later  the  mushrooms 
are  abundant,  and  the  fungi,  which  seldom  seem  to  be 
poisonous  in  Russia,  and  are  in  great  request  with  the 


SERGL  135 

natives,  especially  one  which  tastes  like  meat,  and  which 
thus,  when  eaten  on  fast  days,  gives  all  the  pleasure  of  com- 
mitting a  venial  sin  to  those  who  enjoy  it. 

Through  a  picturesque  brick  gateway,  thoroughly  barbaric 
and  consequently  Russian  in  design,  we  enter  the  monastery 
of  Sergi,  occupied,  like  all  the  monasteries  in  Russia,  by 
monks  of  S.  Basil,  with  long  hair  and  beards.  Just  within 
the  gateway  is  the  new  cathedral,  a  very  beautiful  building, 
entirely  created  at  the  expense  of  the  exceedingly  rich 
monks.  Its  marbles  were  all  found  in  the  neighbourhood 
(boulders  of  splendid  coloured  marbles  may  be  seen  all 
over  the  fields)  and  cut  upon  the  spot.  The  interior  is 
exquisitely  harmonious,  with  lovely  effects  of  golden  light 
and  purple  shadow.  The  enamelled  candelabra  are  splendid 
of  their  kind.  The  frescoes  are  the  work  of  a  devotional 
German  artist,  and  are  an  advance  upon  Russian  art,  which 
has  maintained  that  the  style  of  art  which  prevailed  in  the 
tenth  century,  when  Russia  first  received  the  Gospel,  and 
which  found  its  full  development  in  the  manuscripts  of  the 
twelfth  century,  was  indivisible  from  the  sacred  subjects  of 
Christianity,  and  has  thus,  in  maintaining  the  Byzantine 
forms,  interdicted  all  exercise  of  original  power.  Indeed, 
originality  in  art  was  prohibited  by  the  State,  a  Grand-ducal 
decree  of  1551  requiring  that  all  sacred  pictures  should 
thenceforth  be  painted  on  the  model  of  those  of  Andrew 
Rublof,  a  monk  at  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
Viollet-Ie-Duc  thinks  that  the  ascetic  character  prescribed 
for  the  saints  in  the  icons  was  intended  to  inculcate  habits 
of  abstinence  and  temperance. 

Behind  the  new  is  the  old  cathedral,  with  many  quaint 
domes  and  minarets — Russian  fashion  :  and  a  number  of 


136  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

other  churches.  A  crypted  hall  and  stair  lead  to  the  chapter- 
house, surrounded  by  carved  stalls,  and  supported  by  eight 
huge  granite  pillars,  each  hewn  from  a  single  stone.  Below  are 
the  graves  of  the  great  families  who  have  the  right  of  separate 
chapels  here — Apraxin,  Stroganof,  &c.  We  were  driven 
from  the  Refectory  by  the  overwhelming  smell  of  the  cabbage 
soup  upon  which  the  seventy- five  monks  had  been  regaling 
themselves  :  they  are  always  forbidden  to  eat  meat.  The 
gardens  are  full  of  graves  ;  amongst  them  is  a  glass  house 
containing  the  tombs  of  the  Oldenburgs,  covered  with 
flowers. 

By  the  side  of  the  gate  is  an  icon  shop,  where  you  may 
buy  little  figures  of  the  saints  painted  on  china — the  holy 
hermit  Arcino,  thirty  kopecks ;  the  holy  Sergius,  sixty 
kopecks  ;  the  Saviour,  one  rouble.  Till  recently,  Russians 
professed  never  to  sell  their  holy  images,  and,  though  they 
hawked  them  about  the  streets,  they  only  '  exchanged  them 
for  money  to  buy  other  saints' !  Almost  all  the  monasteries 
are  icon-manufactories,  and  the  artists  are  all  monks  and 
nuns.  Here,  as  near  all  the  great  monasteries,  a  great  traffic 
in  tapers  is  carried  on — -little,  thin,  and  yellow,  or  large,  thick, 
and  white,  according  to  the  purse  and  piety  of  the  buyers. 
The  churches  draw  a  large  revenue  from  this,  especially  as 
they  melt  down  the  ends,  and  collect  the  drippings — for 
fresh  tapers.  On  great  holidays,  all  cannot  reach  their 
favourite  icon,  and  the  lights  are  seen  passing  from  hand  to 
hand.  A  commission  is  often  given  to  travellers,  *  Light  a 
taper  of  forty  kopecks  for  me  before  S.  Sergius  of  Troitsa 
&c.'  No  fisherman  goes  to  sea,  no  traveller  starts,  no 
robber  goes  out  to  plunder,  no  murderer  commits  his  crime, 


'   TZARSKOE  SELO.  137 

without  lighting  a  taper  :  the  duty  is  as  indispensable  a 
prelude  to  evil  as  to  good  works. 

What  a  pretty  group  remains  with  us  as  a  picture 
connected  with  Sergi  ! — of  a  tall  priest  standing  in  the  open 
pillared  portico,  talking  to  a  lay  brother  on  the  steps  be- 
neath, while  the  sunlight  played  through  his  long  rippling 
hair,  and  relieved  it  against  the  dark  background. 

The  whole  neighbourhood  is  indescribably  flat. 

'  Ici  la  terre  meme,  1'aspect  monotone  des  campagnes  commandant 
la  symetrie  :  1'absence  complete  de  mouvement  dans  un  terrain  par- 
tout  uni  et  le  plus  souvent  nu,  ce  manque  de  variete  dans  la  vegetation 
toujours  pauvre  des  terres  septentrionales,  le  defaut  absolu  d'accidents 
pittoresques  dans  d'eternelles  plaines  ou  Ton  dirait  qu'un  seul  site 
obsede  le  voyageur  et  le  poursuit  comme  un  reve  d'une  extremite  de 
1'empire  a  1'autre  ;  enfin,  tout  ce  que  Dieu  n'a  pas  fait  pour  ce  pays  y 
eoncourt  a  I'imperturbable  uniformite  de  la  vie  politique  et  sociale  des 
hommes.'— M.  de  Custine. 


The  palace  second  in  importance  is  that  of  Tzarskoe  Selo, 
'the  Royal  Village,'  to  which  we  travelled  from  afresh  station 
across  a  flat  country,  characterised  by  the  same  '  aspect  of 
sublime  sadness'  as  all  the  environs  of  the  capital,  seeing  on 
the  way  numbers  of  the  large  grey  crows  called  '  Napoleon's 
scavengers,'  asserted  to  have  first  made  their  appearance  in 
Russia  after  the  retreat  of  the  French  from  Moscow,  and  to 
have  abounded  in  the  country  ever  since.  Tzarskoe  Selo  is 
said  to  be  built  in  the  Duderhof  Hills  (Duddergovski  Gori); 
though  where  the  hills  are  it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  It  is 
a  village  of  wooden  villas,  due  to  Catherine  II.,  who  called 
it  Sophia,  after  her  maiden  name.  She  intended  it  as  a  kind 
of  city  of  refuge  for  oppressed  serfs,  or  those  whose  masters 


138  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

refused  them  permission  to  purchase  their  freedom  ;  but 
after  a  time  this  right  of  asylum  was  disestablished,  because 
it  was  found  that  none  but  the  idle  and  profligate  took  ad- 
vantage of  it. l 

The  Palace  was  begun  by  Peter  the  Great  on  land  which 
he  had  given  to  Catherine  L,  but  the  greater  part  of  it  was 
built  by  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  and  is  a  compound  of  all 
that  an  architect  ought  to  avoid  rather  than  to  imitate.  Its 
front,  covered  with  pillars  and  caryatides,  was  once  profusely 
gilt,  but  little  gilding  now  remains,  except  on  the  crowns  and 
domes  which  surmount  one  of  its  towers.  There  is  no 
comfort  in  the  rooms  of  any  of  these  huge  imperial  resi- 
dences ;  here  the  vast  interior  displays  every  form  of  mag- 
nificence, and  an  equal  amount  of  bad  taste.  Pictures  have 
been  fitted  into  the  panels  without  frames,  and  ruthlessly 
cut  down  where  they  did  not  fit.  One  room,  prepared  for 
Prince  Potemkin,  has  a  floor  inlaid  with  exotic  woods,  at  a 
cost  of  a  hundred  roubles  for  every  squared  archine.  Another 
room  is  entirely  coated  with  amber  presented  by  Frederick 
the  Great,  the  raised  parts  of  the  amber  being  transparent. 
Over  and  over  again  we  see  here,  in  their  portraits,  the  five 
most  familiar  faces  of  the  imperial  family.  Peter  the  Great, 
*  the  terrible  hammer  of  which  Russia  was  the  anvil,'  is 
represented  in  many  different  attitudes  and  uniforms.  The 
portraits  of  Catherine  I.  all  show  her  humble  origin,  which 
did  not  prevent  her  influence  over  her  husband.  '  I  know 
well  my  faults,'  he  said,  '  my  outbursts  of  passion  ;  and 
therefore  it  is  that  I  wish  to  have  some  one  near  me  like  my 
Catherine,  who  will  warn  and  correct  me.  I  can  reform  my 
people;  I  cannot  reform  myself.'2  Anne  of  Courland, 

1  Swinton's  Travels,  1792.  "  Stahlin,  83. 


TZARS KOE   SELO.  139 

Peter's  ugly  niece,  contrasts  with  his  handsome  daughter 
Elizabeth,  though  the  charms  of  both  are  equally  praised  in 
the  verses  of  the  flatterer  Lomonossof.  son  of  .a  fisherman 
of  Archangel,  who  made  his  way  on  a  wagon  of  fish  to 
Moscow,  and  became  there  one  of  the  most  voluminous  of 
Russian  writers.  Lastly,  we  have  the  astute  and  vicious 
Catherine  II.,  the  'Felitza'  of  Derjavine,  who  was  the 
laureate  of  her  age. 

Tzarskoe  Selo,  more  than  any  other  of  the  palaces,  is 
connected  with  the  private  history  of  Catherine  II.,  whose 
bonhomie  and  charm,  as  well  as  her  public  character,  threw 
a  veil  even  over  her  vices.  The  Empress  Elizabeth  had 
insisted  upon  the  most  rigid  observance  of  court  etiquette. 
It  is  recorded  that  one  day  she  received  at  her  toilet  a  lady 
of  the  court,  who  with  great  difficulty  continued  standing. 
Elizabeth  at  last  perceived  her  uneasiness,  and  asked  what 
was  the  matter  with  her.  '  My  legs  are  very  much  swelled.' 
'  \Vell,  well,  lean  against  that  bureau  !  I  will  make  as  if  I 
did  not  see  you.' l  Catherine  went  into  quite  the  opposite 
extreme  in  her  goodnature  and  kindheartedness,  and  her 
courtiers,  especially  such  as  were  her  lovers,  took  great 
advantage  of  it.  It  is  recorded  that  when  Gregory  Orlof 
was  summoned  to  council,  whilst  he  was  playing  at  cards, 
he  refused  to  go.  When  the  messenger  humbly  asked  what 
excuse  he  should  take  back,  he  told  him  to  look  for  it  in  the 
Bible.  Being  asked  where,  '  In  the  first  Psalm  and  in  the 
first  verse— Beatus  vir  qui  non  abiit  in  consilio  impiorum  ! ' 
Here  one  after  another  of  the  favourites  of  Catherine  were 
changed  from  lovers  into  adopted  sons.  It  was  at  Tzarskoe 
Selo  that  Catherine  shut  herself  up  for  three  months  after  the 

1   Notes  to  Tooke's  Cat /win-  II. 


140  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

death  (1784)  of  her  young  favourite  Lanskoi,  who  expired  in 
her  arms,  bequeathing  the  whole  of  his  vast  fortune  to  the 
Empress,  who  gave  it  up  to  his  sisters.  She  erected  a  beau- 
tiful mausoleum  in  the  grounds  to  his  memory,  which,  even 
two  years  after,  she  could  not  pass  without  floods  of  tears. 

'  When  her  majesty  had  fixed  her  choice  on  a  new  favourite,  she 
created  him  her  general  aide-de-camp,  in  order  that  he  might  accom- 
pany her  everywhere  without  attracting  reproach  or  inviting  observation. 
Thenceforward  the  favourite  occupied  in  the  palace  an  apartment 
beneath  that  of  the  empress,  to  which  it  communicated  by  a  private 
staircase.  The  first  day  of  his  installation  he  received  a  present  of  a 
hundred  thousand  roubles,  and  every  month  he  found  twelve  .thousand 
on  his  dressing-table.  The  marshal  of  the  court  was  commissioned  to 
provide  him  a  table  of  twenty-four  covers,  and  to  defray  all  the  ex- 
penses of  his  household.  The  favourite  attended  the  empress  on  all 
parties  of  amusement,  at  the  opera,  at  balls  and  promenades,  excursions 
of  pleasure,  and  the  like,  and  was  not  allowed  to  leave  the  palace 
without  express  permission.  He  was  given  to  understand,  that  it 
would  not  be  taken  well  if  he  conversed  familiarly  with  other  women  ; 
and  if  he  went  to  dine  with  any  of  his  friends,  the  mistress  of  the  house 
was  always  absent.' — Tooke's  '  Life  of  Catherine  //.' 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  illiterate  character  of  several 
of  the  favourites  of  Catherine,  that  Rimsky  Korsakof,  who 
succeeded  Zoritz  in  her  affections,  sent  for  a  bookseller  to 
arrange  a  library  for  him — '  Little  books  above  and  great 
books  below.'  Still,  in  the  reign  of  Catherine,  Russian 
literature  made  great  progress  ;  and  Derjavine,  '  the  bard  of 
Catherine  II.,'  recited  many  of  his  poems  here.  One  of  the 
poems  which  afterwards  first  drew  attention  to  the  genius  of 
the  famous  Pouchkino  was  his  '  Recollections  of  Tsarskoe 
Selo.' 

The  size  of  the  grounds  at  Tzarskoe  Selo  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  six  hundred  gardeners  are  employed 


TZARSKOE   SELO.  141 

there,  though  certainly  Russian  workmen  do  not  accomplish 
much.  Here,  as  well  as  in  the  gardens  at  Oranienbaum 
and  Peterhof,  visitors  are  comically  warned  away  from  the 
central  gate  and  the  central  walk.  These  are  reserved  for 
the  imperial  family,  and  must  be  profaned  by  no  more 
humble  foot.  A  triumphal  arch  was  built  by  Alexander  I. 
after  his  return  from  France.  The  gardens  of  Tzarskoe  Selo 
also  contain  an  immense  lake,  with  a  beautiful  Palladian 
summer-house  on  its  banks,  and  a  very  pretty  mosque-like 
building,  with  a  golden  roof,  at  its  extremity,  now  used  as 
the  Imperial  Bath.  Here  the  young  Grand- Duchess  Alex- 
andrine used  to  feed  her  swans.  In  spite  of  the  plague  of 
mosquitoes  which  is  such  a  scourge  to  those  who  visit  these 
gardens  in  summer,  all  the  gay  world  of  S.  Petersburg 
assembles  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  for  the  fetes  of  the 
summer  regatta. 

'  La  flotilla  de  Tsarskoe-Selo  est  une  chose  bien  curieuse.  Elle  a 
son  amiral, — non  pas  un  amiral  d'eau  douce,  s'il  vous  plait !  Ce  ser- 
vice est  d'ordinaire  confie  a  quelque  officier  de  marine,  en  recompense 
d'une  action  d'eclat  oil  il  a  ete  blesse  assez  grievement  pour  etre  exclu 
du  service  actif. 

'  La  flotte  de  Tsarskoe-Selo  se  compose  de  tous  les  modeles  d'em- 
barcations  legeres  employees  dans  1'etendue  de  1'empire.  Tout  s'y 
trouve,  depuis  la  perissoire  en  acajou,  le  podoscaphe  elegant,  depuis 
la  peniche  reglementaire,  le  youyou,  la  simple  barque  plate  ou  les 
mamans  ne  craignent  pas  de  s'embarquer,  jusqu'a  la  barque  des  Esqui- 
maux en  peau  de  veau  marin,  jusqu'a  la  jonque  chinoise  qui  s'aventure 
dans  les  eauxde  1' Amour,  jusqu'a  1'embarcation  Kamtchedale,  etroite  et 
baroque,  jusqu'a  la  longue  pirogue,  maintenue  en  equilibre  par  des 
perches  transversales.  Les  modeles  originaux,  amenes  a  grands  frais 
des  plus  lointaines  extremites  de  1'empire,  sont  conserves  dans  une  sorte 
de  musee,  auquel  a  ete  assignee  pour  demeure  une  espece  de  chateau  assez 
laid  en  briques  brunes,  flanque  de  deux  pseudo-tours  rondes  ;  mais 
les  copies  de  ces  modeles  sont  a  la  disposition  des  amateurs.  On  peut, 
a  toute  heure  du  jour,  s'embarquer  seul  sur  le  navire  de  son  choix,  ou 


142 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


se  faire  promener  pendant  une  heure  sur  les  flots  limpides  du  lac  ;  tout 
cela  gratis  ;  libre  au  promeneur  genereux  de  recompenser  le  matelot 
qui  lui  presente  la  gaffe  et  1'amarre,  ou  qui  rame  pour  lui  sous  les 
ardeurs  du  soleil,  pendant  qu'un  dais  de  toile  protege  les  belles  dames'ou 
les  elegants  officiers.' — Henry  Grtville,  '  Dosia."1 

Heber,  who  visited  Russia  in  1805,  describes  the  situa- 
tion of  Tzarskoe  Selo  as  '  the  most  dirty  and  boggy  con- 


-     -, 


THE    IMPERIAL    BATH,    TZAKSKOE   SELO. 


ceivable,'  but  the  trees  and  shrubberies  have  grown  and 
prospered  since  that  time,  and  the  park  affords  a  great 
variety  of  charming  walks  and  drives.  One  part  of  the 
domain  is  laid  out  in  imitation  of  China,  with  curious 
Chinese  bridges  over  the  straight  canals  ;  and  there  is  an 
absurd  Chinese  village,  inhabited  by  gardeners  and  workmen. 
A  hideous  modern  building,  with  a  tall  tower,  is  called  the 
Arsenal^  and  contains  a  most  glorious  collection  of  armour, 


TZARSKOE  SELO.  143 

including  that  of  Charles  V.,  and  many  diamonded  saddle- 
cloths and  trappings  given  to  the  Tsars  by  Eastern  Khans. 
Numbers  of  historic  relics  are  also  preserved  here,  including 
the  cane  of  Catherine  II.  and  a  little  sword  which  she  made 
out  of  a  large  pin  for  her  grandson  Alexander  I.  as  a  child. 
In  another  part  of  the  grounds  is  a  ludicrous  ruin,  where 
milk  is  sold  to  visitors,  and  where  a  succession  of  ladders 
leads  to  a  room  which  contains  a  flippant  effeminate  figure 
of  Christ,  by  the  over-praised  Dannecker.  But  most  of  the 
grounds  are  a  monotone  of  quiet  beauty— groups  of  self- 
sown  birches  and  pines,  giant  larkspurs  and  hemlocks,  and 
fresh  grassy  lawns.  Till  the  recent  times  of  Nihilism,  the 
Emperors  have  been  accustomed  to  walk  unattended  in 
the  grounds  of  Tzarskoe  Selo.  Joynevilie's  '  Life  of  Alex- 
ander I. '  narrates  how  an  English  lady  was  walking  with 
some  friends  in  these  gardens,  when  two  dogs,  running 
by  the  side  of  a  gentleman  at  a  little  distance,  came  towards 
her,  and  much  frightened  her.  Their  master  called  them 
away,  and  then  came  up,  bowed,  and  apologised,  and  was 
going  to  walk  on,  when  she,  being  a  stranger,  and  anxious 
to  know  the  names  of  the  various  buildings  in  sight, 
detained  him  to  ask  a  few  questions.  He  told  her  the 
history  of  the  various  monuments,  and  was  again  about  to 
withdraw,  when  she  said,  '  But  I  want  most  of  all  to  see  the 
Emperor  ;  where  am  I  likely  to  do  so  ? '  *  Oh,  you  are 
certain  to  see  him  soon  enough,  madam,'  he  said  ;  *  he  often 
walks  here  ; '  and,  bowing,  he  retired  into  a  neighbouring 
shrubbery.  A  little  further  on  she  met  a  court-official,  and 
inquired  who  the  officer  was,  describing  his  dogs  and  that 
he  was  deaf.  'That  was  the  Emperor,'  he  said  ;  'I  saw 
him  myself  a  few  minutes  ago.' 


144  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Near  Tzarskoe  Selo,  as  near  Peterhof,  are  a  number  of 
smaller  palaces  belonging  to  different  members  of  the  im- 
perial family,  who  have  become  very  numerous  in  the 
present  century. 

'  L'imperatrice  a  donne  trop  d'idoles  a  la  Russia,  trop  d'enfants  a 
1'empereur.  S'epuiser  en  grands-dues,  quelle  destinee  ! ' — Custine. 

The  immensity  of  the  imperial  parks  is  seen  during  the 
drive  to  Pawlovski,  the  pretty  park  and  porticoed  palace  of 
the  Grand  Duke  Constantine.  This  palace  was  furnished 
with  the  treasures  of  the  Michael  Palace,  where  the  Em- 
peror Paul  was  murdered,  and  became  the  favourite  residence 
of  his  widow,  the  Empress  Marie,  who  secluded  herself 
here. 

'  Elle  se  crea  a  Pawlovski  une  existence  a  part.  Une  bibliotheque 
riche  d'editions  rares  et  de  productions  nouvelles,  des  tables  d'acajou 
chargees  de  dessins  ou  de  medailles,  des  collections  de  camees  ou  de 
pierres  fines  graveesde  sa  propre  main,  indiquaient,  au  premier  regard, 
ses  habitudes  serieuses.'  ' —  Vie  de  Madame  SwetcJiine. 

Between  the  station  and  Pawlovski,  of  which  the  park  is 
more  varied  in  its  natural  features  than  most,  is  a  great 
restaurant,  which  is  illuminated  with  coloured  lamps  in  the 
evening,  when  a  band  plays,  and  immense  numbers  of 
people  come  out  from  S.  Petersburg  to  be  amused  for  hours 
by — next  to  nothing  at  all. 

Strangers  who  can  do  so  should  not  fail  to  see  a  review 
at  the  Camp  at  Krasnoe  Selo.  The  Empress  and  her  ladies 
are  present  in  white  dresses  with  white  bouquets.  After  all 
is  over,  and  the  Metropolitan  gives  his  benediction,  the 


1  The  Empress  Marie  obtained  real  celebrity  as  a  medallist ;  the  head  of  Paul, 
in  the  Academy  of  Arts,  is  her  finest  work. 


THE  NEVA.  145 

Emperor  kisses  his  hand,  then  the  Empress,  then  the  Grand- 
Dukes  in  succession,  and  finally  they  all  follow  the  prelate, 
as  he  passes  in  front  of  the  troops,  sprinkling  them  with  holy 
water.  The  singing  of  the  Russian  national  hymn,  Boje 
Tsar  chrani,  composed  by  General  Lwoff,  is  often  very 
magnificent. 


Beyond  the  suburbs  of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi,  at  S.  Peters- 
burg, are  the  warehouses  of  grain  ;  whole  streets  of  them 
stand  by  the  side  of  the  river.  Every  roof,  every  parapet, 
and  the  roadway  itself  are  covered  with  pigeons,  which  are 
permitted  to  multiply  to  any  extent,  and  are  never  killed, 
for  fear  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be  shot  by  mistake.  We 
embarked  here  on  a  steamer  for  Schliisselburg,  and  thus 
we  saw  the  whole  length  of  the  Neva  above  the  capital,  one 
of  the  most  important,  though  one  of  the  shortest,  rivers  of 
Europe.  The  scenery,  as  usual,  is  flat  and  melancholy. 

'  Je  n'ai  rencontre  aux  approches  d'aucune  grancle  ville  rien  d'aussi 
triste  que  les  bords  de  la  Neva.  La  campagne  de  Rome  est  un  desert ; 
mais  que  d'accidents  pittoresques,  que  de  souvenirs,  que  de  lumiere, 
que  de  feu,  que  de  poesie  !  Avant  Petersbourg,  on  traverse  un  desert 
d'eau  encadre  par  un  desert  de  tourbe  :  mers,  cotes,  ciel,  tout  se  con- 
fond  ;  c'est  une  glace,  mais  si  terne,  si  morne,  qu'on  dirait  que  le  cristal 
n'en  est  point  etame  ;  cela  ne  reflete  rien.' — M.  de  Custine. 

A  number  of  manufactories  stand  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  near  the  capital.  The  duties  on  that  for  playing-cards 
go  to  support  the  Foundling  Hospital,  towards  which  the 
theatres  also  pay  a  percentage.  Here  and  there  are  villages, 
long  lines  of  wooden  cottages,  black  from  the  effect  of  the 
weather,  with  rude  lace  in  wood  fringing  their  gables.  In 
August  and  September  the  forests  near  the  upper  part  of 

* 

L 


146  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  Neva  are  much  resorted  to  by  sportsmen  for  the  sake 
of  the  double  snipe,  or  the  gelinotte,  which  is  something 
between  a  grouse  and  a  partridge,  and  lives  upon  the  young 
fir-shoots,  from  which  it  obtains  a  flavour  of  turpentine. 
Russian  legend  tells  that  it  was  once  the  finest  bird  in  the 
forest,  but  it  rebelled  against  the  Great  Spirit,  so  a  portion 
of  its  breast  was  taken  away  and  given  to  the  blackcock, 
which  has  to  this  day  a  breast  of  a  different  colour  from  the 
rest  of  its  plumage. 

In  winter  these  forests  are  the  scene  of  numerous  bear- 
hunts,  full  of  thrilling  adventure.  The  solitary  tall  tree 
which  rises  conspicuously  from  the  woods  opposite  Schliis- 
selburg  is  left  as  a  landmark  to  guide  the  hunters.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  adventures  and  escapes  during  a  bear- 
hunt  was  that  of  Mr.  Morgan,  a  much-respected  English 
merchant  at  S.  Petersburg,  who  in  his  youth,  not  very  long 
ago,  was  one  of  the  handsomest  young  men  in  Russia.  He 
was  very  fond  of  bear-hunting  on  the  ice,  but  there  was  one 
bear  so  ferocious  that  no  one  would  venture  to  go  and  kill 
it.  At  last  Mr.  Morgan  persuaded  three  peasants  to  go 
with  him.  The  hunters  wear  long  boots  on  the  ice, 
fastened  to  pieces  of  wood  several  feet  in  length,  and  the 
wood  is  on  rollers.  Then  they  stride  out,  and  away  they 
go  at  fifty  miles  an  hour,  Mr.  Morgan  was  rushing  thus 
along  the  ice  and  the  peasants  after  him,  when  out  came 
the  bear.  He  fired,  and  the  animal  fell.  Then,  thinking 
the  bear  was  mortally  wounded,  he  discharged  his  other 
pistol,  and,  immediately  after,  the  bear  jumped  up  and 
rushed  at  him.  He  had  given  his  knife  to  one  peasant  and 
his  stick  to  another  to  hold,  and,  when  he  looked  round, 
both  the  peasants  had  fled,  and  he  was  quite  defenceless. 


SCHL  USSELB  URG.  1 47 

In  his  boots  he  could  not  turn,  he  could  only  make  a 
circuit,  so  he  jumped  out  of  them  and  tried  to  sink  into  the 
snow.  He  sank,  but  unfortunately  not  entirely,  for  the  top 
of  his  head  remained  above  the  snow.  The  bear  came  and 
tore  off  the  top  of  his  head  and  both  his  eyelids,  then  it 
hobbled  away  ;  but  the  cold  was  so  great,  Mr.  Morgan 
scarcely  felt  any  pain.  By-and-by  the  peasants  returned, 
and  he  heard  them  say,  '  There  is  the  bear,  sunk  into  the 
snow  ;  now  we  can  kill  him.'  Then  Mr.  Morgan  called  out, 
'Oh  no,  indeed,  I  am  not  the  bear,'  and  they  came  and  dug 
him  out.  But  when  they  saw  what  a  state  he  was  in,  they 
said,  '  Well,  now  it  is  evident  that  you  must  die,  so  we  must 
leave  you,  but  we  will  make  you  a  fire  that  you  may  die 
comfortably,  for,  as  for  carrying  you  four  days'  journey  back 
to  S.  Petersburg,  that  is  quite  impossible.' 

But  Mr.  Morgan  offered  the  peasants  so  large  a  reward 
if  they  would  only  take  him  to  some  refuge,  that  at  last  they 
consented,  and  they  picked  up  the  eyelids  too,  and  carried 
them  to  a  neighbouring  house.  There,  the  old  woman  of 
the  place,  when  she  saw  the  eyelids,  said,  '  Oh,  I  will  make 
that  all  right,'  and  she  stuck  them  on  ;  but  she  stuck  them 
on  the  wrong  sides,  and  they  continued  wrong  as  long  as 
Mr.  Morgan  lived. 

Schlilsselburg  is  a  pleasant  little  town  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  where  it  joins  the  vast  Lake  Ladoga,  which  is 
130  miles  long  and  2,000  English  square  miles  in  dimensions. 
The  source  of  the  river  is  under  the  water.  When  the  west 
wind  blows,  and  the  waters  of  the  lake  flow  back,  the 
emissary  becomes  shallow  and  the  source  is  visible.  It  is 
then  known  at  Schliisselburg  that  the  same  wind  must  have 
driven  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland  into  the  mouth  of 

L  2 


148  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  river,  and  that  S.  Petersburg  is  under  .water.  In  spite 
of  the  troubled  river  Volkof  falling  into  Lake  Ladoga,  its 
waters  are  marvellously  clear,  and  they  are  always  cold  ;  in 
tempests  they  rage  like  the  sea. 

'  A  1'origine,  dit  la  tradition,  le  Ladoga  etait  un  lac  aux  eaux  tran- 
quilles,  qui  ne  connaissait  pas  les  orages  ;  mais,  depuis  qu'un  jour  le 
courroux  divin  1'avait  souleve  centre  une  race  impie  de  mortels,  il 
n'avait  plus  retrouve  le  repos  :  meme  par  un  temps  calme,  ses  vagues 
etaient  bouleversees  par  des  tempetes  interieures.  Cette  frenesie  dura 
jusqu'a  Pierre  le  Grand.  Alors,  "  alors  de  Piter  (Saint-Petersbourg) 
Pierre  I  s'embarqua  sur  la  Neva  et  sur  le  Ladoga  ;  tout  a  coup  la 
tempete  s'eleve,  une  bourrasque,  un  orage  epouvantable.  A  grand' 
peine,  ils  arriverent  au  nez  de  Storojevski.  Le  tsar  debarqua.  En- 
toure  des  flots,  la  tete  lui  tourna  de  voir  la  mer  bleue.  '  Aliens,  toi, 
mere  humide,  la  terre !  ne  t'agite  pas,  ne  prends  pas  exemple  sur  ce 
stupide  lac.'  Aussitot  il  ordonna  de  knouter  et  de  fouetter  les  vagues 
irritees.  Le  lieu  ou  il  les  fustigea  de  ses  mains  imperiales  s'appelait 
FEcueil  sec,  et  depuis  ce  temps  on  1'appelle  PEcueil  du  tsar.  Depuis 
lors  le  Ladoga  est  devenu  plus  paisible  ;  il  a  ses  jours  de  calme  comme 
les  autres  lacs. "  ' — Alfred  Rambaud,  '  La  Russie  Epique. ' 

The  sea  fish  and  shells  in  Lake  Ladoga  prove  that  it 
was  once  a  gulf  of  the  Baltic.  Near  its  further  extremity  is 
the  island  convent  of  Valamo,  to  which  refractory  monks 
are  sent  as  a  penance.  No  female  is  ever  permitted  to 
land  upon  its  shores,  and  it  is  said  that  even  a  hen  is  never 
permitted  to  exist  there.  Deep  water  surrounds  the  island, 
and  rare  plants  flourish  upon  it,  which  will  grow  nowhere 
else  in  northern  Russia. 

There  is  no  poverty  in  Schliisselburg,  owing  to  the  cotton 
factory  of  Messrs.  Parish  &  Hubbard,  whose  pretty  gardens 
rise  above  the  river  bank,  but  the  Russians  are  such  hopeless 
thieves  that  it  is  necessary  to  examine  every  workman  in 
the  factory  every  time  he  passes  out  of  the  gate.  They  are 


SCHL  USSELBURG.  1 49 

forced  to  lift  up  their  arms,  for  they  are  wont  to  conceal 
handkerchiefs,  &c.,  by  wrapping  them  around  them.  The 
church,  of  many  domes,  all  different  in  design,  has  a  fine 
new  bell,  which  wras  presented  by  the  English  manufacturers 
and  hoisted  into  its  place  by  the  whole  population.  Such 
a  large  village  church  as  this  is  always  full  of  human  interest, 
and  is  the  dumb  witness  of  every  varied  human  emotion. 
It  is  of  such  a  one  that  Tourgueneff  writes  :— 

'  He  reached  the  church  early.  There  was  scarcely  anyone  there  : 
the  sacristan,  standing  in  the  choir,  was  repeating  the  psalms  of  the 
day ;  his  voice,  broken  now  and  then  by  a  cough,  seemed  to  beat 
time,  falling  and  rising  in  turn.  Lavretsky  remained  near  the  entrance. 
The  faithful  arrived  one  after  the  other,  stopped,  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  and  saluted  on  every  side  ;  their  steps  echoed  under  the  arches. 
An  infirm  old  woman,  dressed  in  a  hooded  cloak,  continued  kneeling 
by  the  side  of  Lavretsky,  and  prayed  fervently ;  her  yellow  and 
wrinkled  face,  her  toothless  mouth,  expressed  the  deepest  emotion  ;  her 
red  eyes  were  fixed,  immovable,  upon  the  images  of  the  iconastos  ;  her 
bony  hand  constantly  came  out  from  under  her  cloak,  as,  slowly,  and 
with  a  harsh  gesture,  she  crossed  herself  conspicuously.  A  peasant  with 
a  heavy  beard  and  repulsive  countenance,  his  hair  and  clothes  in  dis- 
order, entered  the  church,  flung  himself  on  his  knees,  with  numerous 
signs  of  the  cross,  shaking  his  head  and  throwing  himself  backwards, 
after  prostrating  to  the  earth.  Such  bitter  grief  was  depicted  on  his 
features  and  in  each  of  his  movements,  that  Lavretsky  approached  him, 
and  asked  what  ailed  him.  The  peasant  drew  back  half  timidly,  half 
rudely  ;  then  looking  at  him  :  "  My  son  is  dead,"  he  said  in  a  hollow 
tone,  and  he  began  to  prostrate  himself  again.'—  A  Retreat  of  Gentle- 
folks. 

In  a  glass  house,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  is  preserved 
that  boat  of  Peter  the  Great  in  which  he  was  nearly  lost  on 
Lake  Ladoga,  as  is  represented  in  painting  and  sculpture 
at  Tzarskoe  Selo.  The  houses  of  the  prosperous-looking 
village  are  chiefly  of  wood  and  rather  picturesque,  but  a 
summer  visit  to  a  Russian  village  can  give  little  idea  of  the 


ISO 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


life  there  through  the  winter  months  which  occupy  so  far 
the  longer  portion  of  the  year.  Throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  country  the  peasants  sleep  away  their  winters 
like  dormice.  The  heat  is  tremendous  in  their  little  rooms, 
hermetically  sealed  from  the  air,  as  about  a  quarter  of  the 
room  is  occupied  by  the  stove,  a  sort  of  brick  oven,  flat  at 


SCHLUSSELBURG. 


the  top,  the  actual  chimney  being  a  mere  flue  ;  but  on  to 
the  top  of  the  stove  the  inhabitants  climb,  and  there  they 
slumber  away  life.  For  those  who  cannot  find  room  on 
the  stove,  a  shelf  often  surrounds  the  room,  on  which  twenty 
persons  will  often  sleep  unconcernedly  without  lying  down, 
and  with  their  legs  hanging.  Even  if  they  do  go  to  bed, 
the  peasants  seldom  take  off  their  clothes.  Sometimes  two 
women  will  sleep  at  each  end  of  a  bed,  with  their  clothes  on. 


VILLAGE  LIFE.  151 

The  only  domestic  enlivenment  of  the  months  of  snow 
is  found  in  the  Besyedy—  winter  parties  which  meet  at  sun- 
set. They  are  of  three  kinds  :  first  for  the  married  women, 
to  chatter  and  gossip  ;  secondly  for  the  adults,  who  some- 
times sing  and  often  flirt ;  but  thirdly  and  most  frequently 
for  the  children,  when  the  girls  spin,  and  the  boys  make 
bafti,1  but  all  talk  incessantly,  unless  they  are  listening  to 
some  old  woman,  who  tells  them  stories. 

'  At  the  first  glance  there  is  something  extremely  repulsive  in  the 
Russian  Moujik.  His  hair  is  long  and  shaggy,  and  so  is  his  beard  ;  his 
person  is  dirty  :  he  is  always  noisy  ;  and  when  wrapped  up  in  his 
sheepskin  he  certainly  presents  a  figure  more  suitable  for  a  bandit  or 
murderer  than  for  a  man  devoted  to  peaceable  occupations.  This 
apparent  rudeness,  however,  is  less  a  part  of  the  man  himself  than  of 
his  hair  and  beard,  of  his  shaggy  skeepskin,  and  the  loud  deep  tones  of 
his  voice.  The  stranger  who  is  able  to  address  him  with  kindness  in 
his  native  language,  soon  discovers  in  the  Moujik  a  good-humoured, 
friendly,  harmless,  and  serviceable  creature.  "  Sdrastviiitye ,  brat! 
Good -day,  brother  ;  how  goes  it?"  "  Sdrastvttitye,  batiushka,  good- 
day,  little  father  ;  thank  God,  it  goes  well  with  me.  What  is  your 
pleasure  ?  How  can  I  serve  you  ? "  and  at  these  words  his  face  unbends 
into  a  simpering  smile,  the  hat  is  taken  off,  the  glove  drawn  from  the 
hand,  bow  follows  bow,  and  he  will  catch  your  hand  with  native  polite- 
ness and  good-humoured  cordiality.  With  admirable  patience  he  will 
then  afford  the  required  information  in  its  minutest  details  ;  and  this 
the  more  willingly  as  he  feels  flattered  by  the  interrogation,  and  is 
pleased  by  the  opportunity  to  assume  the  office  of  instructor.  A  few 
words  are  often  enough  to  draw  from  him  a  torrent  of  eloquence. 

'  Englishmen  are  too  apt  to  attribute  the  courtesy  of  the  Russian  to 
a  slavish  disposition,  but  the  courteous  manner  in  which  two  Russian 
peasants  are  sure  to  salute  each  other  when  they  meet  cannot  be  the 
result  of  fears  engendered  by  social  tyranny.  On  the  contrary,  a  spirit 
of  genuine  politeness  pervades  all  classes,  the  highest  as  well  as  the 
lowest.'— Kohl. 

The  chief  person  in  every  village  is  its  Elder,  or  Sehki 

J   Birch  bark  slippers. 


152  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Starosta,  and  its  affairs  are  managed  by  the  Selski  Skhod, 
or  village  assembly.  The  authority  of  the  Starosta  is  limited 
by  the  heads  of  households.  No  peasant  can  leave  his 
native  place  without  the  consent  of  the  commune,  and  he 
can  always  be  recalled  by  a  communal  decree,  but  if  he 
sends  home  his  taxes  regularly,  this  is  seldom  likely  to  occur. 
The  principle  of  the  Russian  commune  appears  in  every 
social  relation,  and  even  in  each  room  of  a  prison,  where 
three  or  four  are  assembled,  a  Starosta  is  at  once  appointed 
to  maintain  order  and  exact  obedience.  In  a  household 
the  same  kind  of  system  prevails,  all  the  sons  and  daughters- 
in-law  usually  living  in  perfect  harmony  with  their  parents, 
the  Bolshak,  or  '  Big  One,'  ruling,  and  keeping  a  common 
purse,  which  is  the  family  treasury,  as  in  the  farms  on  the 
Mezzaria  system  in  Italy. 

The  commune  has  the  right  of  distributing  the  com- 
munal lands,  which  are  divided  according  to  the  numbers 
of  'revision  souls,'  a  system  which  has  often  very  harsh 
results,  as  a  widow  with  little  children  may  receive  the  same 
as  a  man  with  strong  able-bodied  sons,  and  the  same  taxes 
have  to  be  paid  on  bad  as  on  good  land,  when  the  distribu- 
tion has  once  been  made.  A  division  of  land  always  lasts 
till  a  new  revision,  which  only  takes  place  once  in  every 
fifteen  years,  and  in  that  time  the  circumstances  of  the 
families  entirely  change.  By  the  Russian  communal  system, 
one  half  of  all  the  arable  land  in  the  empire  is  now  reserved 
to  the  peasantry,  who  comprise  five  sixths  of  the  population. 
Communal  meetings  are  held  in  the  open  air,  and  generally 
on  Sundays.  When  women  are  heads  "of  households,  they 
are  present.  From  the  fact  of  the  heads  of  households 
meeting  frequently  in  assembly  it  results  that  all  the  in- 


THE  MIR.  153 

habitants  of  a  Russian  village  have  some  acquaintance  with 
one  another,  which  is  far  from  being  the  case  in  England. 
The  popular  name  of  the  communal  assembly  is  the  Mir. 

'  The  Russian  word  Mir  has  a  different  signification  in  the  language 
of  business,  the  law,  and  of  the  educated  classes,  from  what  it  has  in 
that  of  the  people.  In  the  first  case  it  is  identical  with  the  French 
word  Commune,  being  the  aggregate  of  persons  living  together  in  the 
same  place,  the  police  jurisdiction  of  a  city,  town,  or  village  ;  but  the 
meaning  is  quite  different  in  the  common  conception  of  the  people. 
Even  the  literal  signification  of  the  word  Mir  indicates  the  sacredness 
of  the  idea,  denoting  both  Commune  and  the  World  ;  the  Greek 
Cosmos  is  the  only  equivalent  to  the  Russian  word.  The  Russian 
language  has  a  great  number  of  proverbs  in  which  the  power,  rights, 
and  sacredness  of  the  Commune  are  recognised  :  — 

God  alone  directs  the  Mir. 

The  Mir  is  great. 

The  Mir  is  the  surging  billow. 

The  neck  and  shoulders  of  the  Mir  are  broad. 

Throw  everything  upon  the  Mir,  it  will  carry  it  all. 

The  tear  of  the  Mir  is  liquid,  but  sharp. 

The  Mir  sighs,  and  the  rock  is  rent  asunder. 

The  Mir  sobs,  and  it  re-echoes  in  the  forest. 

Trees  are  felled  in  the  forest,  and  splinters  fly  in  the  Mir. 

A  thread  of  the  Mir  becomes  a  shirt  for  the  naked. 

No  one  in  the  world  can  separate  from  the  'Mir. 

What  belongs  to  the  Mir  belongs  also  to  the  mother's  little  son. 

What  is  decided  by  the  Mir  must  come  to  pass. 

The  Mir  is  answerable  for  the  country's  defence. 

Haxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire  S 

Russian  peasants  are  always  exceedingly  ceremonious 
and  civil  to  each  other,  and  take  off  their  caps  to  one  of 
their  own  class,  whilst  prostrating  to  a  person  of  distinction. 
Every  peasant  visitor,  however,  will  make  a  point  of  saluting 
the  family  icon,  before  addressing  the  family.  On  going 
to  rest  or  rising,  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  house  salute  the 


154  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

domestic  icon,  crossing  themselves  frequently,  bowing,  and 
even  prostrating  themselves. 

In  every  Russian  peasant  family  the  icon  represents  the 
family  Bible,  the  wedding  gift,  the  birthday  present,  the 
ancestral  portrait.  In  national  life  it  is  the  watchword,  the 
flag  which  has  supported  the  courage  of  generals  and  roused 
the  patriotism  of  troops.  In  a  room,  the  sacred  picture 
always  occupies  the  corner,  because  it  is  the  place  of  honour. 
Formerly  icons  were  made  of  the  same  size  as  newly-born 
babies  and  hung  up  in  the  church  of  their  patron  saint. 
An  icon  of  this  nature  was  called  the  Obraz.  If  the  child 
afterwards  died,  any  jewel  or  trinket  which  might  have 
adorned  it  was  bestowed  upon  the  obraz.  Persons  who 
are  regular  at  church,  observe  all  the  fasts,  make  pilgrimages, 
and,  above  all,  who  never  pass  an  icon  without  crossing 
themselves,  are  supposed  to  do  all  that  is  necessary  for 
salvation.  At  a  railway  station  it  is  often  startling  to  see 
people  hurrying  in  with  their  handbags  and  baskets,  and 
then,  just  as  they  are  about  to  take  their  tickets,  fall  flat 
down  upon  the  floor.  They  have  seen  the  icon  behind  the 
ticket-vendor's  head. 

'  The  Moscovites  are  vastly  attached  to  the  love  of  pictures,  neither 
regarding  the  beauty  of  the  painting  nor  the  skill  of  the  painter,  for 
with  them  a  beautiful  and  an  ugly  painting  are  all  one,  and  they  honour 
and  bow  to  them  perpetually,  though  the  figure  be  only  a  daub  of  chil- 
dren, or  a  sketch  upon  a  scrap  of  paper  ;  so  that,  of  a  whole  army, 
there  is  not  a  single  man  but  carries  in  his  knapsack  a  gaudy  picture 
within  a  simple  cover,  with  which  he  never  parts,  and,  whenever  he 
halts,  he  sets  it  up  on  a  piece  of  wood,  and  worships  it.' — Travels  of 
Macarius  in  the  Sixteenth  Century. 

Nothing  also  is  changed  since  the  ambassadors  of  the 
Duke  of  Holstein,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  wrote  :— 


POPULAR  SUPERSTITIONS.  155 

'  The  first  thing  the  Muscovites  teach  their  children  is  to  make 
reverences  and  inclinations  to  the  images.  At  Ladoga  I  lodged  at  a 
woman's  house,  who  would  not  give  his  breakfast  to  a  child  she  had, 
who  could  hardly  either  stand  or  speak,  till  he  had  first  made  nine 
inclinations  before  the  saint,  and  as  often,  as  well  as  he  could  pronounce 
it,  said  his  Gospodi."1 

Endless  are  the  superstitions  which  attend  domestic 
peasant  life  in  Russia.  A  cross  is  marked  upon  the  threshold 
to  keep  off  witches,  and  still-born  children  are  buried  beneath 
it,  every  peasant  crosses  himself  as  he  passes  over  it,  diseased 
children  are  washed  upon  it,  and  a  newly-baptised  child  is 
held  over  it  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  household  spirits. 
Of  these  the  most  important  is  the  Domovoy  1 — '  Grand- 
father 2  Domovoy,'  which  is  supposed  to  inhabit  the  stove, 
and  to  be  especially  attached  to  its  own  family,  caring  for  its 
welfare.  If  anything  goes  wrong,  Russians  will  abuse  their 
Domovoy  as  Venetians  abuse  their  Madonna.  But  if  any 
real  misfortune  befalls  a  house,  it  is  believed  that  Grand- 
father Domovoy  has  gone  away  in  offence,  and  that  a  strange 
Domovoy  has  taken  his  place  ;  and  with  many  penitential 
promises  the  family  will  implore  their  own  spirit  to  return  to 
them.  On  January  28  the  peasants  leave  out  a  pot  of  stewed 
grain  for  the  Domovoy,  placed  in  front  of  the  stove,  sur- 
rounded by  burning  embers. 

'  The  Domovoy  often  appears  in  the  likeness  of  the  proprietor  of 
the  house,  and  sometimes  wears  his  clothes.  For  he  is,  indeed,  the 
representative  of  the  housekeeping  ideal  as  it  present  itself  to  the  Sla- 
vonian mind.  He  is  industrious  and  frugal,  he  watches  over  the 
homestead  and  all  that  belongs  to  it.  When  a  goose  is  sacrificed  to 
the  water-spirit,  its  head  is  cut  off  and  hung  up  in  the  poultry-yard,  in 
order  that  the  Domovoy  may  not  know,  when  he  counts  the  heads, 
that  one  of  the  flock  has  gone.  For  he  is  jealous  of  the  other  spirits. 

1  From  doiti,  a  house.  "  Diedoitchka,  diminutive  of  died. 


156  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

He  will  not  allow  the  forest-spirit  to  play  pranks  in  the  garden,  nor 
witches  to  injure  the  cows.  He  sympathises  with  the  joys  and  sorrows 
of  the  house  to  which  he  is  attached.  When  any  member  of  the  family 
dies,  he  may  be  heard  (like  the  Banshee)  wailing  at  night  ;  when  the 
head  of  the  family  is  about  to  die,  the  Domovoy  forebodes  the  sad 
event  by  sighing,  weeping,  or  sitting  at  his  work  with  his  cap  pulled 
over  his  eyes.  Before  an  outbreak  of  war,  fire,  or  pestilence,  the 
Domovoys  go  out  from  a  village,  and  may  be  heard  lamenting  in  the 
meadows.  When  any  misfortune  is  impending  over  a  family,  the 
Domovoy  gives  warning  of  it  by  knocking,  by  riding  at  night  on  the 
horses  till  they  are  completely  exhausted,  and  by  making  the  watch- 
dogs dig  holes  in  the  courtyard,  and  go  howling  through  the  village. 
And  he  often  rouses  the  head  of  the  family  from  his  sleep  at  night  when 
the  house  is  threatened  with  fire  or  robbery. 

'  Each  Domovoy  has  his  own  favourite  colour,  and  it  is  important 
for  the  family  to  try  and  get  all  their  cattle,  poultry,  dogs,  and  cats  of 
this  hue.  In  order  to  find  out  what  it  is,  the  Orel  peasants  take  a 
piece  of  cake  on  Easter  Sunday,  wrap  it  in  a  rag,  and  hang  it  up  in  a 
stable.  At  the  end  of  six  weeks  they  look  to  see  of  what  colour  the 
maggots  are  which  are  in  it.  That  is  the  colour  which  the  Domovoy 
likes.  In  the  governments  of  Yaroslaf  and  Nijegorod  the  Domovoy 
takes  a  fancy  to  those  horses  and  cows  only  which  are  of  the  colour  of 
his  own  hide.'  -  Ralston,  '  Songs  of  the  Russian  Peopled 

If  a  family  change  their  residence,  there  is  considerable 
apprehension  lest  it  should  not  be  agreeable  to  the  Domovoy. 
So,  exactly  at  noon,  after  the  furniture  has  been  removed, 
the  oldest  woman  in  the  family  takes  a  new  jar,  and  rakes 
into  it  the  embers  left  in  the  stove  and  carries  them  in  state 
to  the  new  house,  covered  with  a  clean  cloth.  At  the  door 
stand  the  master  and  mistress  of  the  house,  with  bread  and 
salt.  The  old  woman  smites  upon  the  doorposts  and  asks 
if  the  visitors  are  welcome.  Then  the  hosts  bow  and  say, 
'Welcome,  Grandfather  Domovoy,  to  the  new  house.'  Upon 
this,  taking  the  towel  from  her  jar,  the  old  woman  shakes  it 
towards  the  four  corners  of  the  room,  empties  the  ashes  into 
the  stove,  breaks  the  jar,  and  buries  its  fragments  under  the 
floor. 


FORTRESS  OF  SCHLUSSELBURG.  157 

A  tragic  part  in  Russian  history  has  been  played  by  the 
island  fortress  of  Schliisselburg,  with  its  low  yellow  bastion 
towers;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  all  the  scenes  of  royal  or  imperial 
tragedies,  permission  to  visit  it  is  very  rarely  accorded,  and 
then  only  imperfectly.  Here,  in  1741,  the  unfortunate 
young  Emperor  Ivan  VI.,  grandson  of  Ivan  V.,  and  great- 
nephew  of  Peter  the  Great,  was  imprisoned  in  the  revolution 
which  placed  his  cousin  Elizabeth  upon  the  throne. 

'  The  wretched  captive,  lately  the  envied  emperor  of  a  quarter  of 
the  globe,  was  lodged  (for  sixteen  years)  in  a  casemate  of  the  fortress, 
the  very  loophole  of  which  was  immediately  bricked  up.  He  was 
never  brought  out  into  the  open  air,  and  no  ray  of  heaven  ever  visited 
his  eyes.  In  this  subterranean  vault  it  was  necessary  to  keep  a  lamp 
always  burning  ;  and  as  no  clock  was  either  to  be  seen  or  heard,  Ivan 
knew  no  difference  between  day  and  night.  His  interior  guard,  a 
captain  and  a  lieutenant,  were  shut  up  with  him  ;  and  there  was  a  time 
when  they  did  not  dare  to  speak  to  him,  not  so  much  as  to  answer  the 
simplest  question. ' —  Tooke's  '  Life  of  Catherine  II. ' 

In  1762,  after  the  accession  of  Catherine  II.,  an  attempt 
of  one  Vassili  Mirovitch  (second  lieutenant  of  the  garrison 
in  the  town  of  Schliisselburg)  to  get  possession  of  the  person 
of  Ivan  VI.,  in  the  hope  of  recovering  through  him  some 
family  estates  which  had  been  confiscated,  resulted  in  the 
cruel  death  of  the  prince. 

'  The  inner  guard  placed  over  the  imperial  prisoner  consisted  of 
two  officers,  Captain  Vlassief  and  Lieutenant  Tschekin,  who  slept  with 
him  in  his  cell.  These  had  a  discretionary  order  signed  by  the 
empress,  by  which  they  were  enjoined  to  put  the  unhappy  prince  to 
death,  on  any  insurrection  that  might  be  made  in  his  favour,  on  the 
presumption  that  it  could  not  otherwise  be  quelled. 

'  The  door  of  Ivan's  prison  opened  under  a  sort  of  low  arcade, 
which,  together  with  it,  forms  the  thickness  of  the  castle-wall  within 
the  ramparts.  In  this  arcade,  or  corridor,  eight  soldiers  usually  kept 


158  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

guard,  as  well  on  his  account,  as  because  the  several  vaults  on  a  line 
with  this  contain  stores  of  various  kinds  for  the  use  of  the  fortress. 

.  .  .  '  Having  wounded  and  secured  the  governor,  and  being  arrived 
at  the  corridor  into  which  the  door  of  Ivan's  chamber  opened,  Miro- 
vitch  advanced  furiously  at  the  head  of  his  troop,  and  attacked  the 
handful  of  soldiers  who  guarded  Prince  Ivan.  He  was  received  with 
spirit  by  the  guard,  who  quickly  repulsed  him.  He  immediately 
ordered  his  men  to  fire  upon  them,  which  they  did.  The  sentinels 
returned  their  fire,  when  the  conspirators  were  obliged  to  retire,  though 
neither  on  one  side  nor  the  other  was  there  a  single  man  killed,  or  even 
wounded  in  the  slightest  degree. 

'  The  soldiers  of  Mirovitch,  surprised  at  the  resistance  they  met, 
showed  signs  of  an  inclination  to  retreat.  Their  chief  withheld  them  ; 
but  they  insisted  on  his  showing  them  the  order  which  he  said  he  had 
received  from  St.  Petersburg.  He  directly  drew  from  his  pocket  and 
read  to  them  a  forged  decree  of  the  senate,  recalling  Prince  Ivan  to  the 
throne,  and  excluding  Catherine  from  it,  because  she  was  gone  into 
Livonia  to  marry  Count  Poniatofsky.  The  ignorant  and  credulous 
soldiers  implicitly  gave  credit  to  the  decree,  and  again  put  themselves 
in  order  to  obey  him.  A  piece  of  artillery  was  now  brought  from  the 
ramparts  to  Mirovitch,  who  himself  pointed  it  at  the  door  of  the  dun- 
geon, and  was  preparing  to  batter  the  place  ;  but  at  that  instant  the 
door  opened,  and  he  entered,  unmolested,  with  all  his  suite. 

'  The  officers,  Vlassief  and  Tschekin,  commanders  of  the  guard 
which  was  set  on  the  prince,  were  shut  up  with  him,  and  had  called 
out  to  the  sentinels  to  fire.  But,  on  seeing  this  formidable  preparation, 
and  hearing  Mirovitch  give  orders  to  beat  in  the  door,  they  thought  it 
expedient  to  take  counsel  together.  .  .  .  On  this  consultation,  they 
came  to  the  dreadful  resolution  of  assassinating  the  unfortunate  captive^ 
over  whose  life  they  were  to  watch. 

'  At  the  noise  of  the  firing,  Ivan  had  awoke  ;  and,  hearing  the  cries 
and  the  threats  of  his  guards,  he  conjured  them  to  spare  his  miserable 
life.  But,  on  seeing  these  barbarians  had  no  regard  to  his  prayers,  he 
found  new  force  in  his  despair  ;  and,  though  naked,  defended  himself 
for  a  considerable  time.  Having  his  right  hand  pierced  through  and 
his  body  covered  with  wounds,  he  seized  the  sword  from  one  of  the 
monsters,  and  broke  it ;  but  while  he  was  struggling  to  get  the  piece 
out  of  his  hand,  the  other  stabbed  him  from  behind,  and  threw  him 
down.  He  who  had  lost  his  sword  now  plunged  his  bayonet  into  his 
body,  and,  several  times  repeating  his  blow,  under  these  strokes  the 
unhappy  prince  expired. 


FINLAND.  159 

*  They  then  opened  the  door,  and  showed  Mirovitch  at  once  the 
bleeding  body  of  the  murdered  prince,  and  the  order  by  which  they 
were  authorised  to  put  him  to  death,  if  any  attempt  should  be  made  to 
convey  him  away.' ' — Tooke's  '•Life  of  Catherine  //.' 

It  was  at  Old  Ladoga  near  Schltisselburg  that  the  Tsaritsa 
Eudoxia,  the  discarded  first  wife  of  Peter  the  Great,  and 
mother  of  his  son  Alexis,  was  imprisoned  in  1718,  being 
only  released  from  captivity  on  the  accession  of  her  grandson 
Peter  II. 


Our  longest  excursion  from  S.  Petersburg  was  that  to 
Imatra  in  Finland,  for  which  at  least  three  days  are  neces- 
sary. It  is  quite  worth  while,  not  so  much  from  any  beauty 
of  scenery,  but  from  the  glimpse  it  gives  of  the  Finns,  though 
to  the  eye  of  a  stranger  they  have  little  now  to  distinguish 
them  from  ordinary  Russians. 

Finland,  the  Fen-land,  Seiomen-maa,  is  a  vast  land  of 
lakes  and  granite  rocks.  It  is  about  as  large  as  the  whole 
of  France,  and  has  altogether  about  half  as  many  inhabi- 
tants as  London— a  proportion  of  seven  to  the  square  mile. 
In  Eastern  Finland,  .*  the  Land  of  a  Thousand  Lakes,'  more 
than  half  the  country  is  occupied  by  stony  basins  of  clear 
water,  to  which  the  rivers  are  only  connecting  links. 
Northern  Finland  has  little  vegetation  except  moss  and 
lichen,  and  all  over  the  rest  of  the  country  are  vast  desolate 
districts.  Finland  is  twelve  times  less  populous  in  propor- 
tion than  France,  even  three  times  less  populous  in  propor- 
tion than  Russia  itself. 

1  Ivan  was  buried  in  the  monastery  of  Titschina  near  S.  Petersburg,  The  rest  of 
the  family  of  Brunswick— Catherine,  Elizabeth,  Peter,  and  Alexis,  children  of  the 
Regent  Anne  by  Anthony  Ulric,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  released  from  imprisonment 
under  Catherine  II.,  all  died  at  Gorsens. 


160  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Finland  is  the  only  European  state,  except  Hungary, 
which  has  preserved  the  name  of  a  nation  not  Aryan.  Its 
people,  called  Chouds  in  the  Slavonic  Chronicles,  preserve, 
at  least  in  the  north,  their  traditions  and  cultivate  their 
language,  which  is  Oriental,  and  nearly  related  to  Hungarian. 
In  the  south  they  are  becoming  more  amalgamated  with  the 
Russians.  Of  Mongolian  race,  they  are  the  earliest  inhabi- 
tants with  whose  history  we  are  acquainted  in  the  north  of 
Russia,  and  are  the  natural  inhabitants  of  the  soil  of  S. 
Petersburg.  Possibly  they  are  the  red-haired  nation  living 
in  wooden  cities,  mentioned  by  Herodotus  as  lying  to  the 
north  of  his  Sarmatians.  In  the  days  of  the  English  Alfred, 
the  Finns  had  a  great  city  at  Perm,  with  a  gilt  female  idol, 
whom  they  worshipped  ;  and  by  means  of  the  two  rivers 
Volga  and  Tetchora,  they  carried  on  a  great  trade  with  the 
Caspian,  the  people  of  Igur,  or  Bukhara,  and  India.  The 
Aurea  Venus  of  Perm  was  mentioned  by  Russian  chroniclers 
under  the  name  of  Saliotta  Baba — the  golden  old  woman. 
After  the  Asiatic  hordes  had  overrun  Southern  Russia,  the 
Finns  were  driven  out  of  their  original  settlements  by  the 
Bulgarians,  and  in  their  turn  drove  out  the  Lapps,  who 
were  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  the  extreme  north.  The 
Finns  continued  to  be  idolaters — worshipping  Ukko,  the 
god  of  air  and  thunder  ;  Tapio,  the  god  of  forests  ;  Akti,  the 
god  of  lakes  and  streams;  and  Tuoni,  the  god  of  -fire — till 
the  twelfth  century,  when  Eric  IX.  of  Sweden  landed  on  the 
west  coast  with  an  army  and  with  S.  Henry,  an  Englishman, 
the  first  bishop  and  martyr  of  Finland,  and  conquered  the 
country,  physically  and  spiritually.  The  Swedes  governed 
Finland  as  Sweden  was  governed,  and  gave  the  Finns  a 
representation  in  the  Swedish  Diet.  Having  been  Catholic 


FINLAND.  161 

since  the  Swedish  conquest,  most  of  the  Finns  became 
Lutherans  after  the  Reformation  under  Gustavus  Vasa,  when 
the  convents  were  confiscated.  The  prevailing  religion  is 
now  Lutheran  :  out  of  a  population  of  2,000,000  only  1,000 
are  Catholic. 

The  part  of  Finland  nearest  to  Russia  was  annexed  by 
Peter  the  Great  in  1703^  and  the  rest  of  Finland  was,  in 
1808,  ceded  to  the  generous  Alexander  I.,  who  respected 
both  the  customs  and  religion  of  the  country,  of  which  he 
made  himself  Duke.  Though  nominally  subject  to  Russia 
and  partially  protected  by  her,  Finland  has  since  been 
substantially  independent,  with  her  own  laws  and  customs. 

On  their  barren  soil  and  with  their  cold  climate,  the 
Finns  can  never  hope  to  be  powerful  either  by  numbers, 
industry,  or  riches.  Granite  and  marble  are  abundant,  and 
there  are  rich  mines  for  all  kinds  of  valuable  metals,  but  the 
want  of  roads  has  hitherto  made  them  unavailable.  Famines 
have  decimated  the  population.  When  the  wheat  cannot 
ripen  before  the  cold  weather,  as  is  often  the  case,  the 
utmost  misery  ensues.  The  inhabitants  eat  moss,  shoots  of 
trees,  even  straw.  In  1868,  a  quarter  of  the  population 
died  of  hunger  in  certain  districts. 

Drunkenness  has  done  much  to  keep  the  Finns  in  a  state 
of  barbarism,  and,  though  often  more  instructed  than  the 
Russian  peasants,  they  are  behindhand  in  all  social  matters. 
As  late  as  1836  it  was  thought  necessary  to  publish  a  ukase 
compelling  the  priests  to  add  a  family  name  to  the  name  of 
a  saint  given  at  baptism.  Where  the  family  did  not  exist, 
what  was  the  use  of  giving  the  child  a  name?  If  a  Finn 

1  In  1714  its  most  precious  relic,  the  bones  of  S.  Henry,  were  carried  off  frcm 
Abo  to  S.  Petersburg. 

M 


162  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

wishes  to  break  his  fast,  he  will  still  first  turn  the  family 
icon  with  its  face  to  the  wall,  that  it  may  not  see  him  :  the 
icon,  he  believes,  would  inform  against  him  to  the  priest. 
The  Finns  are  fond  of  charms  and  all  arts  of  magic  and 
sacrifices  are  still  sometimes  offered.  '  Blond  comme  un 
Finnois '  is  a  proverb.  The  people  are  silent  and  stolid, 
melancholy  and  suspicious  ;  but  they  are  also  grateful  and 
patient,  and  have  an  honesty  and  simplicity  of  character 
unknown  in  Russia.  Their  ballads  pass  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  but  they  also  possess,  in  the  '  Kalevala,'  a  national 
song,  which  is  the  Iliad,  the  Nibelungen  of  Finland,  called 
by  Max  Miiller  the  fifth  national  epic  of  the  world.  They 
have  had  a  modern  poet — Runeberg,  born  in  1804,  and 
only  recently  dead. 

Tourgueneff  says  that  *  night  is  only  a  sick  day '  here, 
and  there  is  a  Finnish  legend  which  tells  that  Twilight  and 
Dawn  are  a  betrothed  pair,  long  divided  and  ceaselessly 
seeking  each  other,  till  here,  in  the  height  of  summer,  they 
meet,  and  then  their  united  lamps  burn  with  splendour  in 
the  northern  heavens. 

There  are  still  many  bears,  wolves,  lynx,  gluttons,  and 
foxes  in  Finland.  The  marten  is  nearly  extinct.  The  last 
elan  perished  in  the  Russian  invasion  of  1809  ;  though,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Gustavus  Adolphus 
had  published  an  edict  of  death  against  every  '  murderer  of 
an  elan.' 

Perpetual  forests— truly  woods  without  trees,  for  there  is 
nothing  worthy  of  the  name— hem  in  the  railway  line  from 
S.  Petersburg  to  Wiborg.  Passports  are  examined  at  the 
Finnish  frontier,  and  a  change  of  language  and  money  takes 
place.  Wiborg,  which,  derives  its  name  from  Vieh  (cattle), 


FINLAND.  163 

is  a  pretty  prosperous  little  town,  the  third  in  Finland  in 
importance,  with  comfortable  inns,  an  old  circular  market- 
house,  and  a  castle  founded  by  Torkel,  son  of  Canute,  in 
1293.  In  the  little  port  under  the  picturesque  towers  of 
this  old  castle,  where  the  Swedish  governors  lived  like 
princes,  we  found  a  toy  steamer,  in  which  we  proceeded 
across  lakes  where  the  course  was  marked  by  flags  on  both 
sides,  and  through  their  connecting  canals.  On  Sundays, 
whilst  the  rowers  sing,  the  population  of  whole  villages  is 
seen  crossing  some  of  these  lakes  in  barges,  for  the  Finns  are 
great  church-goers.  All  the  scenery  is  pretty,  but  with  the 
monotonous  melancholy  of  Sweden.  Even  the  trees  are  all 
sad  funereal  pines,  weeping  birches,  sixty  different  kinds  of 
willow,  and  here  and  there  a  service-tree,  the  holy  tree  of 
the  ancient  Finns.  At  one  of  the  locks,  we  had  to  leave 
our  first  steamer  and  join  another  on  a  higher  level,  a 
number  of  little  boys  being  in  waiting  to  carry  our  luggage. 
At  the  station  of  Rattiarve  we  finally  disembarked,  and, 
after  a  long  wait  in  a  wooden  room  looking  down  upon  a 
sad  lake,  were  arranged  in  an  open  char-a-bancs  with  three 
horses  abreast,  driven  furiously  down  every  hill  we  came  to, 
that  we  might  have  an  impetus  for  the  ascents.  Here 
beggars  were  always  waiting,  who  asked  alms  *  for  the  love 
of  Christ — the  heavenly  Tsar,'  and  troops  of  children  met  us 
with  birch-baskets  and  labkas  (slippers  of  linden  bark), 
stones  worn  into  odd  forms  by  the  river  rapids,  and  forest 
fruits  and  blackcock  for  sale.  The  most  hideous,  skeleton, 
and  hopeless-looking  horses  do  their  work  well  here,  and 
only  require  the  voice  of  the  Yemstchik.  If  many  horses 
are  wanted  at  the  stations,  travellers  are  liable  to  be  detained, 
for  they  are  out  browsing  in  the  forest. 

M  2 


164  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  monotonous  woods  only  opened  a  little  towards 
evening  into  fields  divided  by  rude  fences  supported  by 
forked  sticks.  Here,  where  the  forests  have  been  burnt,  a 
rich  harvest  is  obtained  from  the  soil  which  is  mixed  with 
ashes.  On  the  ploughed  fields  were  numbers  of  the  crows 
whom  the  Finns  regard  as  the  spirits  of  dead  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  through  the  dry  lands  the  peewits  were  crying 
peet,  peet,  as  if  begging  for  the  rain,  which  soon  afterwards 
came.  Of  these  the  legend  tells  :  — 

*  When  God  created  the  earth,  and  determined  to  supply  it  with 
seas,  lakes,  and  rivers,  He  ordered  the  birds  to  convey  the  water  to  their 
appointed  places.  They  all  obeyed  except  this  bird,  which  refused  to 
fulfil  its  duty,  saying  that  it  had  no  need  of  seas,  lakes,  or  rivers,  to 
slake  its  thirst.  Then  the  Lord  waxed  wroth  and  forbade  it  and  its 
posterity  ever  to  approach  a  sea  or  stream,  allowing  it  to  quench  its 
thirst  only  with  that  water  which  remains  in  hollows  or  among  stones 
after  rain.  From  that  time  it  has  never  ceased  its  wailing  cry  of 
"Drink,  Drink,  Feet,  Feet."'— Ralston  (from  Tereschenko\  '  Riissian 
Folk  Tales: 

As  twilight  was  darkening  into  the  blueness  of  the 
northern  night,  with  the  summer  lightning  which  Russians 
associate  with  the  wink  of  an  evil  eye,  the  lights  in  the  large 
hotel  at  Imatra  were  a  welcome  sight,  and  little  glasses 
of  vodki,  spirit  made  of  rye,  were  a  restorative  before 
supper. 

The  hotel  stands  above  what  is  called  the  Falls  of  Imatra, 
which  are  not  a  cascade,  but  a  rapid  of  milk-white  foam  by 
which  the  lake  falls  into  the  river  through  a  gully  of  rocks. 
Pleasant  winding  walks  lead  to  different  points  of  view.  All 
is  pretty,  but  nothing  is  very  striking,  though  it  has  great 
value  as  being  the  only  bit  of  what  is  commonly  called 
'scenery'  within  many  hundred  miles  of  S.  Petersburg. 


FINLAND.  165 

We  spent  most  of  our  day  at  Imatra  in  an  excursion  to  a 
further  lake  and  rapid,  at  Harakka,  to  which  the  carnage 
crossed  by  a  ferry,  and  where  the  fishing-club  at  S.  Peters- 
burg has  a  pleasant  chalet  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  bank.  In 
the  evening  we  heard  singing,  and  were  told  the  subject  was 
that  favourite  with  Russian  poets,  the  sorrows  of  a  bride 
on  leaving  her  mother,  on  which  the  '  Kalevala '  gives  these 
lines: — 

'  Why  abandon  thus  your  mother? 

Why  dost  leave  your  native  country  ? 

Here  you  had  no  thought  of  trouble, 

Here  no  care  your  heart  to  burden. 

Cares  were  left  to  pines  of  forest, 

Troubles  to  the  posts  and  fences, 

Bitter  griefs  to  trees  of  marshes, 

Sad  complaints  to  lonely  birches. 

Like  the  leaf,  you  floated  onward, 

Like  the  butterfly  in  summer- 
Grew  a  bay,  a  beauteous  berry, 

In  the  meadow  of  your  mother.' 

Only  the  length  of  the  journey  by  rail  prevented  our 
going  on  from  Wiborg  to  the  modern  capital  of  Hehingfors 
and  the  ancient  capital  of  Abo,  but  it  would  probably  have 
been  well  worth  while.  The  Cathedral  of  S.  Henry  at  Abo 
is  the  cradle  of  Finnish  Christianity,  and  contains  a  number 
of  mummies  of  distinguished  persons,  including  that,  in  a 
copper  coffin,  of  Queen  Korsin,  wife  of  Eric  XIV.  of 
Sweden,  who  abdicated  the  Swedish  throne  to  return  to 
Finland. 


i66  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

NOVOGOROD    THE    GREAT. 

THERE  are  500,000,000  acres  of  forest  in  European 
Russia,  and  through  a  good  many  of  these  the  line 
from  S.  Petersburg  to  Moscow  runs,  straight  as  an  arrow. 
When  the  engineers  of  the  line  went  to  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
to  receive  his  directions,  and  bored  him  by  the  detail  of  their 
inquiries,  he  took  a  ruler,  and  drew  a  straight  line  from  town 
to  town,  saying,  '  You  shall  make  your  line  thus.'  And  so 
it  was  made,  absolutely  straight  for  four  hundred  miles,  in- 
conveniently evading  every  object  of  interest  or  importance 
to  the  right  and  left,  and  only  passing  through  one  town, 
Tver. 

What  present  inconvenience,  however,  can  be  thought 
of,  if  we  remember  that,  as  late  as  1800,  when  the  traveller 
Clarke  went  from  S.  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  the  whole  road 
consisted  of  trunks  of  trees  laid  across,  two  million  one 
hundred  thousand  trees  having  been  used  in  the  first  hundred 
miles?  A  vessel  rolling  in  the  Atlantic  was  luxurious  in 
comparison.  The  jolting  can  be  imagined  but  never  de- 
scribed ;  only  an  abundant  supply  of  feather-beds  made  it 
supportable. 

In   winter,    when    all    was  frozen    snow,   travelling  was 


RUSSIAN  FORESTS.  167 

quicker  and  easier,  but  there  were  the  dangers  of  wolves 
and  frost-bites  to  be  encountered.  '  Samovar  postavit! '  ('  On 
with  the  tea-kettle  ! ')  the  half-frozen  traveller  never  failed 
to  shout  from  his  sledge  as  he  neared  a  post-station.1 

We  could  not  take  the  express  train,  as  it  did  not  suit 
our  branch  line  from  Tchudova  to  Novogorod,  but  dawdled 
in  a  slow  train  through  the  forests,  which  are  monotonous 
enough,  though  there  is  something  fine  in  their  boundless- 
ness. 

'  La  foret  lointaine  ne  varie  pas,  elle  n'est  pas  belle,  mais  qui  peut 
la  sender?  Quand  on  pense  qu'elle  ne  finit  qu'a  la  muraille  de  la 
Chine,  on  est  saisi  de  respect :  la  nature,  comme  la  musique,  tire  une 
partie  de  sa  puissance  des  repetitions.'—  M.  de  Custine. 

In  the  song  of  Igor  the  Brave,  the  forests  of  Russia  are 
due  to  the  prayer  of  S.  George :  '  Forests,  thick  forests,  grow, 
O  dark  forests,  over  all  the  famous  land  of  Russia,  by  the 
commandment  of  God  and  the  prayer  of  George.' 

These  forests  (Lyes)  are  regarded  as  the  abode  of  the 
Lyeshy  or  wood-demon,  a  being,  often  a  giant,  with  horns 
and  hoofs  and  long  hair.  The  hurricanes  of  the  forests  are 
the  battles  of  the  Lyeshy.  The  birds  and  beasts  are  his 
servants,  but  his  especial  friend  is  the  bear,  who  guards  him 
from  the  water-sprites.  When  the  squirrels  and  mice  go 
forth  upon  their  annual  migrations,  they  are  supposed  to  be 
captives  which  one  Lyeshy  has  taken  from  another,  or  to 
have  been  lost  by  their  rightful  Lyeshy  in  gambling. 

'  If  anyone  wishes  to  invoke  a  Lyeshy,  he  should  cut  down  a  number 
of  young  birch-trees,  and  place  them  in  a  circle  with  their  tops  in  the 
middle.  Then  he  must  take  off  his  cross,  and,  standing  within  the 
circle,  call  out  loudly,  "  Dyedushka  !"  (Grandfather  !)  and  the  Lyeshy 

1  See  Kohl. 


168  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

will  appear  immediately.  Or  he  should  go  into  the  forest  on  S. 
John's  Eve,  and  fell  an  aspen,  taking  care  that  it  falls  towards  the  east. 
Then  he  must  stand  upon  the  stump,  with  his  face  turned  eastward, 
bend  downwards,  and  say,  looking  between  his  feet,  "  Uncle  Lyeshy  ! 
appear  not  as  a  grey  wolf,  nor  as  a  black  raven,  nor  as  a  fir  for  burning  : 
appear  just  like  me  ! "  Then  the  leaves  of  the  aspen  will  begin  to 
whisper  as  if  a  light  breeze  were  blowing  over  them,  and  the  Lyeshy 
will  appear  in  the  form  of  a  man.  On  such  occasions  he  is  ready  to 
make  a  bargain  with  his  invoker,  giving  all  kinds  of  assistance  in  return 
for  the  other's  soul.' — Ralston,  '  Songs  of  the  Russian  People.* 

A  primitive  old  lady,  who  orthodoxly  crossed  herself 
whenever  the  carriage  gave  a  jolt,  recalled  the  capital  de- 
scription of  Tourgueneff. 

'  Arina  Vlassievna  was  a  true  specimen  of  an  old-fashioned  Russian 
gentlewoman  ;  she  ought  to  have  come  into  the  world  two  hundred 
years  earlier,  in  the  time  of  the  Grand-Dukes  of  Moscow.  Highly 
excitable  and  very  devout,  she  believed  in  all  kinds  of  fore-warnings, 
in  divinations,  in  witchcraft,  in  dreams  ;  she  believed  in  "  Io2irodivi," 
in  familiar  spirits,  in  dryads,  in  evil  chances,  in  the  evil  eye,  in  popular 
remedies,  in  the  virtues  of  salt  laid  on  the  altar  on  Holy  Thursday,  in 
the  approaching  end  of  the  world  ;  she  believed  that  if  the  candles  of 
the  midnight  mass  at  Easter  did  not  go  out,  the  harvest  of  buckwheat 
would  be  good,  and  that  mushrooms  never  grow  till  a  human  eye  has 
rested  upon  them  ;  she  believed  that  the  devil  loves  places  where  there 
is  water,  and  that  the  Jews  have  a  stain  of  blood  upon  their  breasts  ; 
she  was  afraid  of  mice,  adders,  frogs,  sparrows,  leeches,  thunder,  cold 
water,  draughts  of  air,  horses,  he-goats,  red  men  and  black  cats,  and 
she  considered  dogs  and  crickets  as  unclean  beasts  ;  she  never  ate  veal, 
or  pigeons,  or  lobsters,  or  cheese,  or  asparagus,  or  Jerusalem  artichokes, 
or  hare,  or  water-melon  (because  a  cut  melon  recalls  the  severed  head 
of  S.  John  the  Baptist),  and  the  very  idea  of  oysters,  which  she  had 
never  seen  in  her  life,  made  her  tremble  ;  she  loved  good  eating,  and 
fasted  rigidly  ;  she  slept  ten  hours  a  day,  and  never  went  to  bed  at  all 
if  Vassili  Ivanovitch  complained  of  a  headache.  The  only  book  she 
had  read  was  called  "Alexis,  or  the  Cottage  in  the  Forest."  She  never 
wrote  more  than  one  or  two  letters  a  year,  and  was  a  proficient  in  the 
manufacture  of  jams  and  jellies,  though  she  never  herself  laid  her  hand 
to  anything,  and  did  not  usually  like  to  move  from  her  chair.  Arina^ 


NO  VO  GO  ROD    THE   GREAT.  169 

Vlassievna  was,  nevertheless,  very  kind,  and  was  not  without  a  certain 
kind  of  good  sense.  She  knew  that  the  masters  existed  in  the  world 
to  give  orders,  and  the  lower  classes  to  obey,  and  for  this  reason  she 
had  no  fault  to  find  with  the  obsequiousness  of  her  inferiors,  with  their 
bowings  down  to  the  ground  ;  but  she  treated  them  with  great  gentle- 
ness, and  never  passed  a  beggar  without  giving  him  alms,  and  never 
spoke  harshly  of  anyone,  though  she  was  not  averse  to  gossip.  In  her 
youth  she  had  possessed  an  agreeable  figure,  she  played  the  harpsichord 
and  spoke  a  little  French.  But  during  the  long  journeys  of  her  husband, 
whom  she  had  married  against  her  will,  she  had  grown  fat,  and  for- 
gotten her  music  and  French.  Whilst  she  adored  her  son,  she  was 
dreadfully  afraid  of  him  ;  it  was  Vassili  Ivanovitch  who  managed  her 
property,  and  she  left  him  full  liberty  in  this  respect  ;  she  sighed, 
fanned  herself  with  her  handkerchief,  and  frowned  timorously  when  her 
old  husband  began  to  speak  to  her  of  the  reforms  which  were  in  pro- 
gress, and  of  his  own  plans.  She  was  distrustful,  was  always  on  the 
watch  for  some  great  misfortune,  and  began  to  weep  whenever  anything 
sad  came  to  her  recollection.  .  .  .  Wonien  of  this  kind  are  beginning 
to' become  rare.  God  knows  if  it  is  a  subject  for  rejoicing.' — Parents 
and  Children. 

Towards  evening,  the  seventy  minarets  of  Novogorod  rose 
above  the  plain,  and  then  the  circle  of  proud  monasteries 
which  still  '  mark  the  ribs  of  the  great  skeleton '  of  the  fallen 
city. 

On  arriving  at  the  station  we  found  the  muddy  space  in 
front  of  it  crowded  with  droskies,  but  then  first  knew  the 
terrible  burden  of  luggage  in  a  land  where  the  only  carriages 
are  the  smallest  in  Christendom.  Any  ordinary  box  looks 
as  if  it  would  crush  one  of  these  tiny  vehicles ;  and  an 
English  lady's  usual  luggage  requires  five  or  six  of  them. 
Our  procession,  once  started  along  the  stony  road,  deep  here 
and  there  in  quagmire,  was  soon  arrested  by  another  pro- 
cession, chanting,  with  banners  and  flowers,  taking  a  famous 
image  from  one  of  the  churches  to  a  chapel  on  the  other 
side  of  the  bridge.  We  followed  slowly,  with  bare  heads 


i;o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

like  our  drivers,  through  the  red  walls  of  the  Kremlin  en- 
closure, and  across  the  broad  Volkoff  to  the  good  and 
reasonable  Hotel  Solovieff. 

As  a  relic  of  former  grandeur,  few  places  in  Europe  are 
more  interesting  or  more  melancholy  than  Gospodin  Veliki 
Novogorod — Lord  Novogorod  the  Great — which  was  long 
the  political  centre  of  north-western  Russia.1  According  to 
Nestor,  the  earliest  of  Russian  historians,  its  foundation  is 
coeval  with  that  of  Kieff,  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century, 
and  it  disputes  with  Kieff  the  honour  of  being  the  cradle  of 
Russian  power.  But  little  is  really  known  of  its  history  till 
the  ninth  century,  when  Rurik  made  it  his  metropolis.  A 
year  after  his  death,  and  the  accession  of  his  son  Igor  (879), 
the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  Kieff,  and  for  a 
century  Novogorod  was  ruled  by  governors.  In  9 70  Sviatoslaf, 
son  of  Igor,  made  his  third  son,  Vladimir,  Duke  of  Novo- 
gorod, who,  when  he  succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne  of 
Russia,  ceded  the  town  to  his  son  Yaroslaf,  by  whom,  in 
1036,  great  privileges  were  granted  to  the  inhabitants. 
From  this  time  Novogorod  was  governed  by  its  own  Dukes, 
who  gradually  became  entirely  independent,  and  the  town 
increased  in  prosperity  till  '  Who  can  contend  against  God 
and  the  great  Novogorod  ? '  became  a  Russian  proverb.  By 
the  Lake  Ilmen  and  its  communications  with  the  Volkoff 
and  Lake  Ladoga  on  the  north,  and  the  Volga,  Dniester, 
and  Dnieper  on  the  south,  Novogorod  became  the  inter- 
mediary of  commerce  between  Europe  and  Eastern  Russia, 
and  even  Asia. 

Oustreloff  says  that  the  territory  of  the  republic  of  Novo- 
gorod reached  on  the  south  to  Torjok;  on  the  north  to 

1  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Rnssie. 


NOVOGOROD    THE   GREAT.  171 

Kexholm,  a  hundred  miles  beyond  S.  Petersburg ;  on  the 
east  to  the  extremity  of  the  modern  governments  of  Arch- 
angel, Viatka,  and  Perm;  and  on  the  west  to  Esthonia  :  a 
district  now  containing  about  five  million  inhabitants. 

The  fall  of  Kieff  in  1169  seemed  at  the  time  to  presage 
the  fall  of  Novogorod,  but,  as  Karamsin  says,  '  the  people  of 
Kieff,  accustomed  to  change  their  rulers,  and  to  sacrifice  the 
conquered  to  the  conquerors,  fought  only  for  the  honour  of 
their  princes  ;  whilst  the  people  of  Novogorod  were  ever 
ready  to  give  their  blood  for  the  defence  of  their  rights  and 
the  institutions  bequeathed  to  them  by  their  ancestors.' l 
They  were  always  ready  to  die  for  S.  Sophia  of  Novogorod. 

The  princes  of  Novogorod  were  chosen  by  the  council 
called  the  Veche,  in  which,  and  not  in  the  prince,  the  chief 
power  vested.  If  the  Veche  complained  of  a  prince  after 
his  election,  he  was  deposed  ;  whence  the  proverb,  '  An  evil 
prince  to  the  mud  of  the  marsh.'2  'It  was  the  assembly  of 
the  citizens,  summoned  by  the  great  bell  to  meet  in  the 
"Court  of  Yaroslaf,"  which  was  the  true  sovereign.'3 

'  Novogorod  avait  le  choix  entre  les  princes  des  families  rivales. 
Elle  pouvait  faire  ses  conditions  a  celui  qu'elle  appelait  a  regner  sur 
elle.  Mecontente  de  sa  gestion,  elle  expulsait  le  prince  et  sa  bande 
d'antrustions.  Suivant  1'expression  consacree,  elle  "  le  saluait  et  lui 
niontrait  le  chemin"  pour  sortir  de  Novogorod.  Quelquefois,  pour 
prevenir  ses  mauvais  desseins,  elle  le  retenait  prisonnier  dans  le  palais 
du  prelat,  et  c'etait  son  successeur  qui  devait  lui  rendre  la  liberte. 

'  Le  pouvoir  d'un  prince  de  Novogorod  s'appuyait  non-seulement 
sur  sa  droujina  qui  suivait  toujours  sa  destinee,  sur  ses  relations  de 
famille  avec  telle  ou  telle  principaute  puissante,  mais  encore  sur  un 
parti  qui  se  formait  en  sa  faveur  au  sein  de  la  republique.  C'etait 
lorsque  le  parti  contraire  Pemportait  qu'il  etait  detrone,  et  que  les 


Kostomarov,  Histoire  de  Rnssie.  2  Ibid. 

3  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Rnssie. 


172  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

vengeances  populaires  s'exe^aient  sur  ses  adherents.     Novogorod  etan 
avant  tout  une  grande  cite  comme^ante,  ces  divisions  avaient  frequem- 
ment  pour  cause  des  divergences  d'interets  economiques. ' — Rambaud, 
'  Hist,  de  la  Russie. ' 


In  the  fifteenth  century  the  Grand-Princes  of  Russia,  re- 
moving their  residence  from  Kieffto  Vladimir,  and  afterwards 
to  Moscow,  claimed  feudal  sovereignty  over  Novogorod  also, 
but  respected  the  greater  part  of  its  popular  privileges.  In 
1471  the  ambition  of  Martha  Beretska,  an  absolute-mayoress 
elected  by  the  Veche,  caused  the  Novogorodians  to  throw  off 
all  subjection  to  Ivan  III.,  and  to  negotiate  an  alliance  with 
Poland.  They  were  entirely  defeated  by  the  Russian  armies, 
but  pardoned  on  payment  of  a  heavy  fine.  But  in  1478 
Martha  incited  a  second  rebellion,  when  the  city  was 
blockaded,  compelled  by  famine  to  surrender,  its  Veche 
abolished,  and  its  people  forced  to  take  an  oath  of  obedience 
to  the  autocratic  prince  of  Moscow ;  in  1497  numbers  of  the 
inhabitants  were  massacred  and  exiled ;  and  in  the  sixteenth 
century  Ivan  Vassilivitch  carried  off  to  Moscow  the  great 
bell  called  '  Eternal,'  revered  as  the  palladium  of  the  liber- 
ties of  Novogorod,  which  he  demanded  as  'the  larum  of 
sedition.'  Henceforward  the  Grand-Prince  became  absolute 
sovereign  of  Novogorod,  building  a  Kremlin  by  which  he 
might  dominate  the  town  ;  but  it  continued,  after  Moscow, 
to  be  the  largest  and  most  commercial  city  in  Russia.  Thus 
Richard  Chancelour  describes  it  in  1554  : — 

'  Next  unto  Moscow,  the  city  of  Novogorod  is  reputed  the  chiefest 
in  Russia  ;  for  although  it  be  in  majestic  inferior  to  it,  yet  in  greatnesse 
it  goeth  beyond  it.  It  is  the  chiefest  and  greatest  marte  towne  of  all 
Moscovie  ;  and  albeit  the  emperor's  seate  is  not  there,  but  at  Mosco, 
yet  the  commodiousnesse  of  the  river,  falling  into  that  gulfe  which  is 


NOVOGOROD   THE  GREAT.  173 

called  Sinus  Finnicus,   whereby  it  is  well  frequented  by  merchants, 
makes  it  more  famous  than  Mosco  itself.' — Hakluyt,  i.  252.' 

In  1570  Ivan  the  Terrible  (Ivan  Vassilivitch  II.)  dis- 
covered a  treasonable  correspondence  between  the  citizens 
of  Novogorod  and  Sigismund  Augustus  of  Poland,  and 
avenged  it  by  the  terrible  'tribunal  of  blood,'  in  which  some 
say  that  thirty,  some  that  sixty,  thousand  persons  fell. 

'  A  gentleman,  sent  by  the  King  of  Denmark,  to  this  tyrant,  eight 
years  after  the  taking  of  the  citie,  relates,  in  his  Itinerary,  that  persons 
of  quality  had  assured  him  that  there  were  so  many  bodies  cast  into 
"Wolgda,  that  the  river,  stopping,  overflow'd  all  the  neighbouring  fields. 
The  plague,  which  soon  follow'd  this  cruelty,  was  so  great  that,  nobody 
venturing  to  bring  in  provisions,  the  inhabitants  fed  on  dead  carcasses. 
The  tyrant  took  a  pretence  from  this  inhumanity  to  cause  to  be  cut  in 
pieces  all  those  who  had  escaped  the  plague,  famine,  and  his  former 
cruelty,  which  was  no  doubt  more  dreadfull  than  all  the  other  chastise- 
ments of  God.  I  shall  alledge  onely  two  examples  relating  to  Novo- 
gorod. The  archbishop  of  this  place,  having  escap'd  the  first  fury  of 
the  soldiery,  either  as  an  acknowledgement  of  the  favour,  or  to  flatter 
the  tyrant,  entertains  him  at  a  great  feast  in  his  archiepiscopal  palace, 
whither  the  Duke  fayl'd  not  to  come,  with  his  guard  about  him,  but 
while  they* were  at  dinner  he  sent  to  pillage  the  rich  temple  of  S. 
Sophia,  and  all  the  treasures  of  the  other  churches,  which  had  been 
brought  thither,  as  to  a  place  of  safety.  After  dinner  he  caus'd  the 
archbishop's  palace  to  be  in  like  manner  pillaged,  and  told  the  arch- 
bishop that  it  would  be  ridiculous  for  him  to  act  the  prelate  any  longer, 
since  he  had  not  to  bear  himself  out  in  that  quality  ;  that  he  must  put 
off  his  rich  habit,  which  must  thenceforth  be  troublesome  to  him,  and 
that  he  would  bestow  on  him  a  bagpipe  and  a  bear,  which  he  should 
lead  up  and  down,  and  teach  to  dance,  and  get  money  ;  that  he  must 
resolve  to  marry,  and  that  all  other  prelates  and  abbots  that  were  about 
the  citie  should  be  invited  to  the  wedding,  setting  down  the  precise 
sum  which  it  was  his  pleasure  that  everyone  should  present  to.  the 
newly-married  couple.  None  but  brought  what  he  had  a  shift  to  save, 

1  '  The  Booke  of  the  great  and  mighty  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  Duke  of  Muscouia, 
and  of  the  dominions,  orders,  and  commodities  thereunto  belonging  :  drawen  by 
Richard  Chancelour '  (temp.  Ed.  VI.)  1553. 


i?4  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

thinking  the  poor  archbishop  would  have  had  it.  But  the  tyrant  took 
all  the  money,  and,  having  caused  a  white  mare  to  be  brought  to  the 
archbishop:  "There  is  thy  wife,  get  up  on  her,  and  go  to  Moscou, 
where  I  will  have  thee  entertain'd  among  the  violins,  that  thou  may'st 
teach  the  bear  to  dance."  The  archbishop  was  forc'd  to  obey,  and,  as 
soon  as  he  was  mounted,  they  ty'd  his  legs  under  the  mare's  belly,  hung 
about  his  neck  some  pipes,  a  fidle,  and  a  timbrel,  and  would  needs 
make  him  play  on  the  pipes.  He  scap'd  with  his  punishments,  but  all 
the  other  abbots  and  monks  were  either  cut  to  peices,  or,  with  pikes 
and  halbards,  forc'd  into  the  river. 

'  Nay,  he  had  a  particular  longing  for  the  money  of  one  Theodore 


KREMLIN    OF    NOVOGOROD. 


Sircon,  a  rich  merchant.  He  sent  for  him  to  the  camp  near  Novo- 
gorod,  and,  having  fasten'd  a  rope  about  his  waste,  order'd  him  to  be 
cast  into  the  river,  drawing  him  from  one  side  of  it  to  the  other,  till  he 
was  ready  to  give  up  the  ghost.  Then  he  caus'd  him  to  be  taken  up, 
and  ask'd  him  what  he  had  seen  under  water.  The  merchant  answer'd 
that  he  had  seen  a  great  number  of  devils  thronging  about  the  tyrant's 
soul,  to  carry  it  along  with  them  to  hell.  The  tyrant  reply'd,  "Thou  art 
in  the  right  on't,  but  it  is  just  I  should  reward  thee  for  thy  prophecy," 
whereupon  calling  for  seething  oil,  he  caus'd  his  feet  to  be  put  into  it, 
and  continu'd  there,  till  he  had  promis'd  to  pay  him  ten  thousand 
crowns,  which  done,  he  caus'd  him  to  be  cut  to  peices,  with  his 
brother,  Alexis.' — 7^ravels  of  the  Ambassadors  of  Holstein  into  Mus- 
covy. 


NO  VO  GO  ROD    THE   GREAT. 


175 


From  this  decimation  the  town  never  recovered,  and  it 
finally  collapsed  when  S.  Petersburg  was  built.  It  once 
had  different  circles  like  Moscow,  and  the  outer  circle 
included  the  great  convents,  which  are  now  seen  stranded 
far  away  in  the  grassy  plain.  The  commercial  portion  of 


SOPHIA    OF    NOVOGOHOD. 


the  town  is  most  miserable,  but  it  retains  its  Gostinnoi  Dvor 
or  bazaar,  with  its  covered  galleries  and  '  guests'  yard  '  for 
foreign  merchants.  In  the  twelfth  century  endless  foreign 
traders  flocked  to  Novogorod  as  a  centre.  They  were 
divided  into  the  '  winter  and  summer  merchants.'  The 


176  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

government  undertook,  at  a  fixed  price,  to  send  boatmen  to 
meet  them  as  far  as  Igera  ;  for  these  merchants,  to  evade 
the  cataracts  of  the  Neva  and  VolkorT,  discharged  their 
merchandise  into  light  boats.  A  particular  quarter  of 
Novogorod  was  assigned  where  the  traders  from  Germany 
and  the  Isle  of  Gothland  enjoyed  perfect  independence, 
subject  to  their  own  laws,  for  the  execution  of  which  they 
chose  the  elders  of  their  own  body  ;  the  ambassador  of  the 
prince  alone  had  the  right  of  entering  their  quarter.  The 
Gothlanders  had  a  chapel  dedicated  to  S.  Olaf  at  Novo- 
gorod, and  the  Germans  a  church  dedicated  to  S.  Peter. 
The  Novogorodians  had  also  a  church  in  Gothland.  It  was 
the  generous  friendship  of  the  foreign  merchants  alone 
which  preserved  Novogorod  from  total  ruin  in  1231,  by 
gifts  of  corn,  when,  after  an  early  winter  had  destroyed  the 
harvest,  forty-two  thousand  people  had  perished  of  starva- 
tion, and  the  survivors  lived  on  moss,  leaves,  bark,  cats, 
dogs,  and  had  even  killed  one  another  for  food. 

Now,  there  is  no  life  left  in  the  bazaar  ;  customers  are 
so  rare.  The  principal  trade  seems  to  be  that  of  icons. 
These  generally  represent  Bogotez  (God  the  Father)  or  Bog 
Sun  (God  the  Son),  or  the  Holy  Trinity,  or  the  Bogoroditza 
(Mother  of  God)  in  Russian  costume  as  the  Kazan  or 
Iberian  Mother.  Next  comes  S.  Nicholas,  being  to  the 
common  people,  in  the  world  of  spirits,  what  the  heir  to  the 
throne  is  in  the  political  world.1 

'  It  is  to  St.  Nicholas  that  at  the  present  day  the  peasant  turns  most 
readily  for  help,  and  it  is  he  whom  the  legends  represent  as  being  the 
most  prompt  of  all  the  heavenly  host  to  assist  the  unfortunate  among  man- 
kind. Thus  in  one  of  the  old  stories  a  peasant  is  driving  along  a  heavy 

1  See  Kohl. 


NO  VO  GO  ROD   THE  GREAT.  177 

road  one  autumn  day,  when  his  cart  sticks  fast  in  the  mire.  Just  then 
S.  Kasian  comes  by. 

'  "  Help  me,  brother,  to  get  my  cart  out  of  the  mud  !  "  says  the 
peasant. 

'"Get  along  with  you!"  replies  S.  Kasian.  "Do  you  suppose 
I've  got  leisure  to  be  dawdling  here  with  you  ? " 

'  Presently  S.  Nicholas  comes  that  way.  The  peasant  addresses  the 
same  request  to  him,  and  he  stops  and  gives  the  required  assistance. 

'  When  the  two  saints  arrive  in  heaven,  the  Lord  asks  them  where 
they  have  been. 

'  "  I  have  been  on  the  earth,"  says  S.  Kasian,  "and  I  happened 
to  pass  by  a  moujik  whose  cart  had  stuck  in  the  mud.  He  cried  out 
to  me,  saying,  '  Help  me  to  get  my  cart  out  ! '  But  I  was  not  going 
to  spoil  my  heavenly  apparel." 

'  "  I  have  been  on  the  earth,"  says  S.  Nicholas,  whose  clothes  were 
all  covered  with  mud  ;  "  I  went  along  that  same  road,  and  I  helped  the 
moujik  to  get  his  cart  free." 

'Then  the  Lord  says,  "Listen,  Kasian  !  Because  thou  didst  not 
assist  the  moujik,  therefore  shall  men  honour  thee  by  thanksgiving  once 
only  in  every  four  years.  But  to  thee,  Nicholas,  because  thou  didst 
assist  the  moujik  to  set  free  his  cart,  shall  men  twice  every  year  offer 
up  thanksgiving." 

'  "  Ever  since  that  time,"  says  the  story,  "  it  has  been  customary  to 
offer  prayers  and  thanksgiving  (molebmd}  to  Nicholas  twice  a  year,  but 
to  Kasian  only  once  every  leap-year."  ' — Ralston,  '  Russian  Folk  Talcs.' 
From  the  * Legendtd'1  of  Afanasief. 


Almost  all  the  historic  buildings  on  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Volkoff  have  perished  in  the  different  conflagrations 
which  have  ravaged  the  city,  including  the  church  of 
S.  George,  in  which  Theodosia,  mother  of  Alexander 
Nevskoi,  was  buried  by  her  son  Feodor  in  1244. 

The  arms  of  Novogorod,  which  we  see  frequently  re- 
peated, somewhat  ludicrously  commemorate  the  first  esta- 
blishment of  Christianity.  Two  bears,  supporters,  are 
represented  at  an  altar  upon  the  ice,  with  crucifixes  crossed 
before  the  Bogh,  on  which  is  placed  a  candelabrum  with  a 

N 


178 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


triple  lustre,  emblem  of  the  Trinity.  We  sometimes  also 
see  representations  of  the  two-headed  eagle,  the  arms  of  the 
Greek  empire,  which  Ivan  the  Great  assumed  on  his  mar- 
riage with  Sophia  Paleologus,  and  which  the  sovereigns  of 
Russia  still  retain. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  bridge  is  a  chapel,  before  which 
all  drivers  cross  themselves,   and  where  every  peasant  in 


CHAPEL   ON   THE   BRIDGE   OF    NOVOGOROD. 


passing  leaves  a  candle  or  a  penny,  but  where  beggars 
prostrate  and  touch  the  earth  with  their  foreheads  after  each 
sign  of  the  cross  which  they  make. 

A  strange  disturbance  of  the  waters  below  the  bridge, 
which  always  prevents  the  river  from  freezing  there,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  the  spirits  of  those  drowned  here  by  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  when,  as  the  Russians  ironically  said,  the  *  waters 
of  the  river  were  used  to  assuage  the  fury  of  their  father.' 


THE  KREMLIN  OF  NOVOGOROD.  179 

This  ancient  bridge  of  the  Volkoff  is  celebrated  in  the 
epic  songs — the  bylines — of  Novogorod.  It  was  here  that 
the  hero  Vassili  Boulaevitch,  with  his  faithful  dronjinaj- 
standing  up  to  his  knees  in  blood,  kept  in  check  the 
moujiks  of  Novogorod,  whom  he  had  defied  to  combat. 

How  striking  the  view  is  over  the  broad  expanse  of  the 
beautiful  and  limpid  river  which  Russians  believe  to  have 
flowed  back  towards  its  source  as  a  presage  of  the  misfor- 
tunes which  followed  the  death  of  Yaroslaf  ! 2  At  the  same 
time  that  the  famous  statue  of  Peroun,  the  god  of  thunder,, 
was  thrown  into  the  river  at  Kieff  by  Vladimir,  a  similar 
statue  of  the  god,  which  stood  on  the  banks  of  this  river, 
made  of  wood,  with  a  silver  head  and  golden  moustaches, 
was  thrown  into  the  Volkoff. 

Beyond  the  river  rise  the  red  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  the 
ancient  acropolis,  with  towers  which  recall  the  encircling 
wreath  of  Lucerne.  The  steep  bank  from  which  it  rises  is 
overgrown  with  wild  geranium,  much  used  in  Russia  for 
dressing  all  kinds  of  wounds.  The  form  of  the  fortress  is  oval. 
In  fulfilment  of  a  horrible  religious  custom,  its  first  stone  was 
laid  on  a  living  child.  It  was  rebuilt  in  1491  by  Solario  of 
Milan  for  Ivan  the  Great,  as  is  recorded  in  an  inscription 
over  the  gate.  Amongst  the  many  remarkable  scenes  which 
the  ancient  walls  of  Novogorod  have  witnessed,  perhaps  the 
most  striking  was  that  in  1170,  when,  terrified  by  the  fate 
of  the  churches  of  Kieff,  which  had  been  pillaged  by  in- 
vaders, the  whole  people  swore  to  give  up  the  last  drop  of 


1  The  immediate  followers  of  the  early  heroes  and  of  the  early  Grand -Princes— 
their  bodyguard   in  time  of  war,  their  council  in  time  of  peace— were  thus  called. 
The   droujina  generally  included  a  bard,  who,  at  banquets  or  festivals,  recited  the 
deeds  of  Askold,  Dir,  Oleg,  and  other  Varangian  heroes. 

2  See  Karamsin. 

N  2 


i8o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA, 

their  blood  in  defence  of  S.  Sophia.  The  archbishop  Ivan, 
followed  by  all  the  clergy,  took  the  image  of  the  Virgin  and 
carried  it  to  the  walls.  While  the  chant  of  the  sacred 
hymn  mingled  with  the  cries  of  the  combatants,  one  of  the 
shower  of  arrows  which  fell  within  the  fortress  pierced  the 
holy  icon,  which  is  said  to  have  deluged  the  robes  of  the 
archbishop  with  its  tears.  In  any  case,  something  occurred 
which  caused  a  panic  to  seize  the  besiegers,  and  the  people 
of  Novogorod,  obtaining  a  brilliant  victory,  instituted  the 
festival  of  November  27  in  honour  of  the  Virgin  to  com- 
memorate their  deliverance.1 

Within  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  which  once  contained 
eighteen  churches  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses,  is  now 
for  the  most  part  an  open  space.  The  first  object  which 
catches  the  eye  of  a  stranger  is  the  bell -like  Monument, 
erected  in  1862  to  commemorate  the  thousandth  anniversary 
of  the  Russian  empire,  for  it  was  in  862  that  the  Slavonians 
invited  the  Variag  tribe  called  Rus  to  send  them  rulers,  and 
three  brothers  accepted  the  office — Ruric  in  Novogorod, 
Sineno  in  Bielo-ozero,  Truvor  in  Iborsk.  The  other 
brothers  died  ;  but  Ruric  the  Rus  ruled  and  administered 
justice,  whence  the  name  of  Russia.  On  the  right  of  the 
road  are  the  belfry,  the  cathedral,  the  bishop's  palace,  and 
the  veche  tower — an  historic  group  of  marvellous  interest. 

The  strange  low  cathedral  of  S.  Sophia,  though,  like  all 
Russian  churches,  much  spoilt  externally  by  whitewash,  is, 
with  its  many  gilt  domes,  most  quaintly  picturesque.  As  of 
all  the  older  Russian  churches,  its  model  is  to  be  found  in 
Constantinople.  It  was  founded  in  1044  by  Vladimir  Yaro- 

*  Karamsin,  iii. 


S.  SOPHIA    OF  NOVOGOROD. 


181 


slovitch  on  the  site  of  a  wooden  church,  which  was  built 
c.  i ooo  by  the  first  archbishop,  Joachim,  and  it  was  finished 
in  1051. 

'  A  magnificent  monument  of  the  glorious  times  of  Yaroslaf  remains 
to  us  in  the  temple  of  S.  Sophia  of  Novogorod,  erected  by  Vladimir, 
son  of  Yaroslaf,  who  died  while  only  a  youth,  and  was  buried  there 


CATHEDRAL   OF    S.    SOPHIA,    NOVOGOROD. 


together  with  his  mother.  This  church  has  not  suffered  materially 
either  from  wars  or  time,  and  has  been  preserved  in  all  its  grandeur,  as 
a  jewel  above  price  to  the  country.' — Mouravieff,  '  Hist,  of  the  Church 
of  Russia^  ch.  ii. 

It  is  probably  owing  to  the  decline  of  the  city  of  Novo- 
gorod that  its  principal  church  has  been  so  little  altered  or 
modernised  from  the  earliest  times.  Its  bronze  doors,  of 
Italian  twelfth-century  work,  recall  those  of  S.  Zenone  at 


182  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Verona.  They  were  brought  hither  from  Cherson,  where 
Vladimir  the  Great  was  baptised,  and  were  a  gift  to  Novo- 
gorod  from  the  famous  Archbishop  Basil,  endeared  to  the 
people  from  his  self-devotion  during  the  terrible  visitation 
of  the  plague  called  the  Black  Death  in  1349,  in  which  he 
himself  became  the  victim  of  his  Christian  patience  and 
fortitude. 

This  church  of  S.  Sophia  has  served  as  a  type  for 
thousands  of  later  Russian  churches,  as  the  constant  wars 
of  the  country  and  the  dread  of  Tartar  invasions  have  pre- 
vented any  development  of  art  in  Russia,  though,  indeed, 
under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  the  Slavonic  race 
has  seemed  incapable  of  architectural  development.  All 
the  great  churches  at  Kieff  are  by  Greek,  those  at  Moscow 
by  Italian  or  German,  those  at  S.  Petersburg  by  Italian, 
German,  or  French  artists,  though,  in  each  case,  only 
second-class  foreigners  have  been  employed. 

Glorious  is  the  blaze  of  colour  solemnised  by  the  dim 
light  which  pervades  the  interior.  The  heavy  pillars  sup- 
port tall  narrow  round  arches.  The  walls  are  covered  with 
frescoes  on  a  golden  ground,  resembling  those  painted  at 
S.  Maria  Novella  by  Greek  artists  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
which  so  struck  Cimabue,  and  made  him  steal  away  from 
school  to  watch  them  ;  probably  these  are  by  artists  from 
Constantinople.  The  chronicles  of  Novogorod  recount  that 
Christ  appeared  to  the  artist,  who  was  charged  to  paint  the 
cupola,  and  said,  '  Do  not  represent  me  with  a  hand  ex- 
tended in  blessing,  but  with  a  hand  closed  ;  for  in  that 
hand  I  hold  Novogorod,  and  when  it  opens,  the  town  will 
perish.'  l 

1  Rambaud,  p.  115. 


S.  SOPtfSA    OF  NOVOGOROD,  183 

Magnificent  bronze  candlesticks  stand  in  front  of  the 
golden  iconastos,  and  above  waves  the  banner  of  the  Virgin, 
which,  displayed  upon  the  city  walls,  has  so  often  encou- 
raged the  imprisoned  citizens  to  resist  their  besiegers.  Here 
also,  as  in  all  the  most  important  Russian  churches,  a  throne 
like  a  pulpit  (to  stand,  not  sit  in)  is  placed  before  'the  altar, 
prepared  for  any  sudden  appearance  of  the  Emperor. 

In  the  dim  splendour  and  magnificence  of  this  cathedral 
we  find  the  especial  burial-place  of  the  saints  of  north- 
western Russia.  Raised  aloft  to  the  right  of  the  altar  is  the 
archbishop  S.  Nikita,  whose  prayers  extinguished  a  great 
conflagration  in  the  city,  and  who  has  a  silver  tomb,  bearing 
a  gilt  effigy  of  the  venerable  old  man.  Behind,  nearer  the 
entrance,  under  gates  studded  with  jewels,  is  the  Grand 
Prince,  S.  Mistislaf  the  Brave  (1176),  who  'feared  nothing 
but  God,'  and  bravely  defended  Novogorod  against  the 
powerful  Andrew  of  Sonsdalia.  His  dead  hand,  perfectly 
black,  is  left  exposed  to  the  kisses  of  the  faithful  :  l  the  rest 
of  his  body  is  covered  with  cere-cloth. 

'  The  boyars  and  the  citizens  showed  the  most  touching  feeling,  in 
the  evidence  of  their  grief  for  the  death  of  Mistislaf  the  Brave,  a  prince 
generally  beloved.  They  delighted  to  speak  of  his  manly  beauty,  of 
his  victories ;  to  recall  his  generous  projects  for  the  glory  of  his  country, 
his  simple  goodness  united  to  all  the  fire  and  all  the  pride  of  a  noble 
heart.  This  prince,  according  to  the  evidence  of  his  contemporaries, 
was  the  ornament  of  his  age  and  of  Russia  ;  whilst  others  made  con- 
quests from  avarice,,  he  never  fought  except  for  glory.  He  despised 
gold  more  than  clangers,  and  gave  up  all  his  spoils  to  the  churches,  and 
to  his  warriors,  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  encourage  in  battle  by 
these  words — "  God  and  right  are  on  our  side  ;  we  may  die  to-day  or 

1  For  centuries  in  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  and  still  in  the  Church  of  Armenia, 
the  dead  hand  of  the  first  bishop  has  been  employed  as  the  instrument  of  consecration 
in  each  succeeding  generation. 


1 84  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

to-morrow,  but  at  least  we  die  with  honour."  There  was  no  part  of 
Russia  which  did  not  wish  to  obey  him,  and  where  he  was  not  sincerely 
lamented.' — Karanisin^  iii. 


INTERIOR    OF    S.    SOPHIA,  NOVCGOROD. 


In  the  eastern  aisle  rests  S.  Anne,  mother  of  Mistislaf, 
daughter  of  the  Eastern  emperor  Romanus,  with  Alexandra, 
sister-in-law  of  Mistislaf,  and  his  father  Vladimir,  son  of 
Yaroslaf  the  Great,  1020.  In  the  northern  aisle,  raised  as 


5.  SOPHIA    OF  NOVOGOROD.  185 

on  a  bed,  is  S.  Ivan.  His  aged  veined  hands  are  visible,  and 
the  lid  of  his  sarcophagus  can  be  raised  so  as  to  disclose 
his  face.  Another  tomb  (brought  from  the  monastery  of  S. 
George)  is  that  of  Feodor,  brother  of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi, 
who  died  in  1228. 

'  The  bones  of  a  martyr  are  inoffensive  and  passive.  A  man  must 
be  indeed  brutalised  who  can  deny  to  them  that  honour  and  affection 
which  even  heathens  sometimes  bestow  .by  natural  instinct  on  the  re- 
mains of  their  dead.  Nor  will  he  deny  that  such  honour  and  affection 
may  be  expressed  outwardly,  as  well  as  felt  inwardly  :  and  in  con- 
formity with  established  custom,  as  well  as  incidentally  of  spontaneous 
emotion.  And  if  it  chance  that  a  sick  man  or  a  demoniac  approach 
the  relics  of  a  martyr  and  is  healed,  or  if  a  blind  man  receives  his  sight, 
there  is  no  room  to  quarrel  either  with  the  martyr  who  sought  no  wor- 
ship, or  with  the  relics  which  are  inanimate,  or  with  the  man  healed, 
who,  perhaps,  uttered  no  word,  or  with  the  free  grace  and  power  of 
God.'  —  Palmer. 

It  was  in  this  church  that  Alexander  Nevskoi,  the  great 
*  defender  of  the  orthodox  faith,'  knelt  to  receive  the  bene- 
diction of  the  archbishop  Spiridion  before  going  forth 
against  the  Scandinavian  army  to  gain  his  famous  victory. 
To  this  he  was  encouraged  by  the  report  of  a  vision.  A 
boat  manned  by  two  radiant  warriors  had  been  seen  to  glide 
through  the  night  :  they  were  the  sainted  brothers  Boris 
and  Gleb,  who  had  come  to  ensure  his  success. 

In  the  Sacristy,  amongst  other  relics,  is  shown  the  white 
mitre  of  the  famous  Archbishop  Basil,1  sent  to  him  by  the 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  Basil  was  the  first  Russian 
archbishop  to  receive  pontifical  habits  adorned  with  the 
cross.  A  mitre  of  the  same  kind,  in  Greece,  was  formerly 
the  attribute  of  a  bishop  who  was  not  a  monk.2 

1  This  archbishop  (1340)  looked  for  Paradise  in  the  White  Sea,  and  believed  the 
statement  of  some  merchants  of  Novogorod  that  they  had  seen  it  in  the  distance. 

2  See  Karamsin,  iv. 


1 86  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  "  Their  war-cry  bore  testimony  to  the  piety  of  our  ancestors  ;  the 
cathedral  church  was  the  heart  of  each  of  their  cities,  and  its  name 
served  as  the  pledge  of  victory.  For  S.  Sophia  !  "  "  For  the  House 
of  the  most  holy  Trinity  !  "  resounded  terribly  in  the  ranks  of  Novo- 
gorod  and  Pskoff,  when  their  hero-saints  overthrew  the  Swedes  or  the 
Sword-bearers. ' — Mouravieff. 

Close  to  the  cathedral  stands  the  Palace  of  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Novogorod)  who  long  played  so  important  a  part 
in  history. 

'  II  est  le  premier  personnage  en  dignite  de  la  republique.  "  Bene- 
diction de  la  part  de  1'archeveque  Moise,  dit  une  lettre  patente  ;  salut  du 
possadnik  Daniel  et  du  tysatski  Abraham."  Sur  le  prince  il  a  cette 
superiorite  d'etre  un  enfant  du  pays,  tandis  que  le  descendant  de  Rou- 
rik  est  un  etranger.  En  revanche  les  revenus  du  prelat,  le  tresor  de 
Sainte-Sophie,  sont  au  service  dela  republique.  Au  quatorzieme  siecle, 
nous  voyons  deux  archeveques  clever  a  leurs  frais,  1'un  les  tours,  1'autre 
un  kremlin  de  pierre.  Au  quinzieme  siecle,  les  richesses  de  la  cathe- 
drale  sont  employees  au  rachat  des  prisonniers  russes  enleves  par  les 
Lithuaniens.  C'est  une  eglise  essentiellement  nationale  que  celle  de 
Novogorod  ;  les  ecclesiastiques  se  melent  des  affaires  temporelles,  et 
les  lai'ques  des  affaires  spirituelles.' — Rambaud,  '  Hist,  de  la  RussieS 

In  the  pretty  green  courtyard  near  the  Archbishop's 
Palace  is  the  picturesque  tower  in  which  the  bell  of  the 
Vetche  l  hung  till  it  was  carried  off  to  Moscow — the  famous 
bell  which  summoned  the  council  which  had  the  power  of 
deposing  or  imprisoning  princes,  electing  archbishops,  de- 
ciding peace  and  war,  and  judging  the  criminals  of  state — 
the  majority  having  always  the  resource  of  drowning  the 
minority  in  the  Volkoff  !  Sometimes  the  assembly  met  at 
S.  Sophia,  sometimes  in  the  Court  of  Yaroslaf  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  ;  and  Novogorod  has  even  seen  two  rival 
vetches  and  their  adherents  come  to  blows  upon  its  bridge.  * 

1  The  word  vcch  means  assembly.  2  See  Rambaud,  p.  no. 


S.  SOPHIA    OF  NOVOGOROD.  187 

One  of  the  most  singular  services  which  a  foreigner  can 
attend  in  these  historic  Russian  churches  is  the  annual 
cursing  of  heretics,  political  as  well  as  religious,  in  which 
anathemas  are  called  down  upon  a  number  of  people  by 
name — on  the  false  Demetrius,  on  Boris  GodunorT,  Mazeppa, 
Senka  Rasin,  and  Pugatsheff  amongst  the  political  heretics. 
The  mention  of  each  is  followed  by  a  thunder  of  *  anafema, 
anafema.'  With  Boris  Godunoff  alone  is  a  distinction 
made  ;  for  though  an  unpopular  he  was  a  wise  ruler,  and 
well  disposed  to  the  priests — *  For  the  good  he  wrought  may 
he  enjoy  the  heavenly  blessing  ;  for  the  evil,  "  anafema, 
anafema."'  After  the  last  anathema  follows  a  prayer  for 
the  whole  house  of  Romanoff  and  all  its  descendants,  past 
and  present — and  blessings  are  called  down  upon  them  and 
their  memory. 

The  singing  in  these  old  churches  is  often  most  beau- 
tiful and  striking,  while  strangers  have  a  great  loss  in  seldom 
understanding  the  words. 

'  In  the  greater  Compline,  which  is  used  at  certain  seasons,  there  is 
a  manifest  relic  of  those  primitive  times  when  the  Church  was  in  the 
catacombs  under  Jewish  and  heathen  persecution.  And  it  is  impos- 
sible to  hear  the  singing  of  this  relic  without  feeling  ourselves  to  be  as 
it  were  breathed  upon  by  the  breath  of  that  living  energy  which  first 
selected  and  accommodated  its  words  from  those  of  the  prophet  Isaiah. 

'  "  God  is  with  us  !  understand,  O  ye  nations,  and  submit  your- 
selves :  for  God  is  with  us  !  "  "  Ki  Immanu  EL"  This  is  sung  first 
by  the  choir  on  one  side :  Then  the  same  a  second  time  by  the  choir 
on  the  other  side  :  then  as  follows,  verse  and  verse  alternately — 

Give  ear  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 

Ye  mighty,  submit  yourselves  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 

For  if  ye  wax  powerful  again,  ye  shall  again  be  broken  in  pieces  : 
for  God  is  with  us  ! 

And  though  ye  take  counsel  together,  the  Lord  shall  bring  it  to 
nought  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 


1 88  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

And  if  ye  speak  the  word,  it  shall  not  stand  :  for  God  is  with  us ! 

Your  terror  will  we  not  fear,  neither  be  troubled  :  for  God  is  with 
us  ! 

But  the  Lord  our  God,  Him  will  we  sanctify,  and  He  shall  be  our 
fear  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 

And  if  I  trust  in  Him,  He  shall  be  unto  me  for  a  sanctuary  :  for 
God  is  with  us  ! 

And  I  will  trust  in  Him,  and  I  shall  be  saved  through  Him  :  for 
God  is  with  us  ! 

Behold  I,  and  the  children  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  me  :  for 
God  is  with  us  ! 

The  people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen  a  great  light :  for 
God  is  with  us  ! 

We  that  dwelt  in  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death,  upon  us  hath  the 
light  shined  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 

For  unto  us  a  Child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given :  for  God  is 
with  us  ! 

And  His  name  shall  be  called  The  Messenger  of  the  Great  Counsel : 
for  God  is  with  us  ! 

Wonderful,  Counsellor  :  for  God  is  with  us  ! 

The  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  power,  the  Prince  of  peace  :  for  God 
is  with  us  ! 

The  Father  of  the  world  to  come  :  for  God  is-  with  us  ! 

Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost : 
for  God  is  with  us  ! 

Both  now,  and  ever,  and  world  without  end,  Amen  :  for  God  is 
with  us  ! 

'  And,  lastly,  both  the  choirs  sing  together  "  For  God  is  with  us  !  " 
("  Ki  Immanu-El")' — IV.  Palmer,  'Dissertations  on  the  Orthodox 
Communion^ 

The  saints  (not  Biblical,  after  the  Virgin  and  Apostles) 
mentioned  in  the  Offertory  or  Celebration  of  the  Divine 
Mystery  are — 

'  Our  holy  fathers,  the  high  priests,  Basil  the  Great,  Gregory  the 
Divine,  and  John  Chrysostom,  Athanasius  and  Cyril,  Nicholas  of  Myra 
in  Lycia,  Peter  and  Alexis,  and  Jonas  and  Philip  of  Moscow,  Nicetas, 
bishop  of  Novogorod  ;  Moetias,  bishop  of  Rostoff,  and  all  holy  high 
priests. 


S.  ANTHONY.  189 

'  The  great  apostle,  proto-martyr,  and  archdeacon  Stephen  ;  the 
holy  and  great  martyrs  Demetrius,  Georgius,  Diodorus  the  tyrant, 
Diodorus  the  warrior,  and  all  holy  martyrs,  men  and  women — Thecla, 
Barbara,  Cyriaca,  Euphemia,  Parascovia,  and  Catharina,  and  all  hoiy 
female  martyrs. 

'  Our  venerable  and  inspired  fathers,  Anthonius,  Euthymius,  Sabbas, 
Onuphrius,  Athanasius  of  Mount  Athos,  Antonius  and  Theodosius  of 
Pecherskoi,  Sergius  of  Radonige,  Balaam  of  Chutuiski,  and  all  vene- 
rable fathers  ;  and  all  venerable  matrons — Pelagia,  Theodosia,  Ana- 
stasia,  Eupraxia,  Pleuronia,  Theodulia,  Euphrosyne,  Mary  of  Egypt 
and  all  holy  and  venerable  matrons. 

'  The  holy  wonder-workers,  the  disinterested  Cosmas  and  Damia- 
nus,  Cyrus  and  John,  Pantaleon  and  Hermolaus,  and  all  unmercenary 
saints. 

'  The  holy  and  venerable  parents  of  God,  Joachim  and  Anna  (and 
the  saint  whose  day  it  is),  and  all  saints. 

'  By  the  intercession  of  these,  look  down  upon  us,  O  God.'  ' 

At  Novogorod  we  were  first  present  at  one  of  the 
singular  services  called  a  Moleben.  When  anyone  has  a 
particular  act  in  view,  or  day  in  the  calendar  with  an 
especially  dear  association,  or  when  he  wishes  to  offer  espe- 
cial thanksgivings,  he  goes  to  the  priest  and  gives  him  a 
rouble  for  a  Moleben.  The  priest  takes  him  into  the 
church,  and,  assisted  by  an  inferior  priest,  reads  prayers, 
sings,  and  burns  incense,  whilst  he  in  whose  behalf  it  is 
done  bows  and  crosses  himself  without  ceasing.  The  prayer 
is  not  addressed  to  God,  but  to  the  Angel  Chranitel  or 
Guardian  Angel ;  hence  the  Moleben  is  often  read  on  the 
name-day,  which  should  rather  be  called  the  day  of  the 
guardian  angel,  held  so  sacred  by  the  Russians. 

S.  Anthony  the  Roman  is  said  to  have  started  from  Italy 
on  a  mediaeval  voyage.  With  a  millstone  round  his  neck 
he  was  thrown  into  the  Tiber,  and  thus,  in  two  days  and 

1  See  King. 


190  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

nights,1  he  passed  from  the  Mediterranean  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  by  the  Baltic  and  the  Neva  to  Lake  Ladoga,  whence 
the  Volkoff  brought  him  hither — '  the  rivers  of  Russia  being 
the  threads  by  which  its  religious  destinies  have  always  been 
curiously  interwoven.' 2  S.  Anthony  is  commemorated  at 
Novogorod  by  the  great  convent  of  his  name. 

'  Opposite  the  Kremlin,  on  the  same  side  with  the  city,  is  the  con- 
vent of  S.  Anthony,  who  came  from  Rome  on  a  millstone,  down  the 
Tiber,  across  the  sea,  and  by  the  Volga  to  Novogorod.  By  the  way  he 
met  certain  fishermen,  with  whom  he  bargained  for  the  first  draught 
they  should  take,  and  they  brought  up  a  chest  full  of  priest's  vestments 
to  say  mass  in,  books,  and  money.  The  saint  afterwards  built  a  chapel 
there  in  which  the  Muscovites  say  that  he  lies  interred,  and  that  his 
body  is  there  to  be  seen,  as  entire  as  when  he  departed  this  world. 
Many  miracles  are  wrought  there,  as  they  say  ;  but  they  permit  not 
strangers  to  go  in,  thinking  it  enough  to  show  them  the  millstone  upon 
which  the  saint  performed  this  pretended  voyage,  and  which  indeed 
may  be  seen  lying  against  the  wall.' — Travels  of  the  Ambassadors  of 
Holstein,  1633-1639. 

A  short  excursion  should  be  made  from  Novogorod  to 
the  magnificent  Yurieff  Monastery ^  the  finest  of  those  whose 
golden  domes  gleam  across  the  green  plain  of  the  Volkoff. 

'  During  the  episcopate  of  S.  Nicetas  (1124-1127),  two  celebrated 
religious  houses  were  founded  in  Great  Novogorod  :  one,  the  Yurieff 
monastery,  by  the  zeal  of  Prince  Mistislaf,  though  some  traditions 
refer  its  foundation  to  Yaroslaf  the  Great ;  the  other,  that  of  S.  Anthony 
the  Roman,  who  sailed  from  the  West  up  the  Volkoff,  and  lived  as  a 
hermit  on  its  banks,  near  the  Church  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  which  he  is  said  to  have  built.  In  like  manner,  as  in  Novo- 
gorod and  Kieff,  so  also  in  many  other  chief  district-towns,  wherever 
the  dawn  of  spiritual  enlightenment  so  much  as  penetrated,  monasteries 
were  gradually  formed,  which  spread  it  abroad  over  all  the  surrounding 
parts  ;  and  the  Word  of  God,  carried  about  by  holy  solitaries,  was  let 

1  Palmer.  2  Stanley's  Eastern  Chiirch. 


RUSSIAN  HOTELS.  191 

fall  into  the  depths  of  the  vales  and  forests  as  the  quickening  seed  of  a 
future  life,  which  should  bring  forth  its  fruit  in  due  season.'—  Moura- 
vieff,  '•Hist,  of  the  Church  of  Russia' 

At  Novogorod  we  were  first  in  a  Russian  hotel  where 
the  native  guests  ate  quantities  of  sour  cabbage  and 
cucumbers,  and  drank  kvass,  which  tastes  like  vinegar  and 
water  ;  foreigners  dislike  it  at  first,  but  soon  become  accus- 
tomed to  it. 

'  Fortunately  it  is  a  light  and  wholesome  beverage.  A  pailful  of 
water  is  put  in  the  evening  into  an  earthen  vessel,  into  which  are 
shaken  two  pounds  of  barley-meal,  half  a  pound  of  salt,  and  a  pound - 
and-a-half  of  honey.  This  mixture  is  put  in  the  evening  into  a  kind  of 
oven,  with  a  moderate  fire,  and  constantly  stirred  ;  in  the  morning  it  is 
left  for  a  time  to  settle,  and  then  the  clear  liquid  is  poured  off.  The 
kvas  is  then  ready,  and  may  be  drunk  in  a  few  days  ;  in  a  week  it  is 
at  its  highest  perfection.  As  kvas  is  thought  good  only  when  prepared 
in  small  quantities,  and  in  small  vessels,  every  household  brews  for 
itself.  In  great  houses  a  servant  is  kept  for  this  purpose,  who  finds  in 
it  wherewithal  to  occupy  him  for  a  whole  day,  and  has  as  many 
mysterious  observances  in  the  preparation  as  if  it  were  a  spell,  or  as  if 
there  were  as  much  significance  in  his  labours  as  in  those  of  Schiller's 
Bell-founder.  '—Kohl. 

As  ordinary  Russians  prefer  food  half-ripe,  they  like 
vegetables  half-cooked  and  hard  as  bullets,  and  eat  their 
bread  half-baked.  One  of  the  favourite  dishes  is  Shtshee. 

'  The  mode  of  preparing  this  remarkable  dish  varies  greatly,  and 
there  are  almost  as  many  kinds  of  shtshee  as  of  cabbages.  Six  or  seven 
heads  of  cabbages  chopped  up,  half  a  pound  of  barley-meal,  a  quarter 
of  a  pound  of  butter,  a  handful  of  salt,  and  two  pounds  of  mutton  cut 
into  small  pieces,  with  a  can  or  two  of  "  kvas,"  make  an  excellent 
shtshee.  With  the  very  poor  the  butter  and  the  meat  are  of  course  left 
out,  which  reduces  the  composition  to  the  cabbage  and  the  kvas.  In 
the  houses  of  the  wealthy,  on  the  contrary,  many  ingredients  are  added, 
and  rules  laid  down  to  be  closely  observed;  "bouillon"  is  used 


I92  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

instead  of  kvas,  the  meat  is  salted  and  pressed  for  six-and-thirty  hours, 
and  is  put  raw  to  the  already  boiling  cabbage  ;  thick  cream  is  added, 
and  the  whole  mixture  when  complete  is  pronounced  unsurpassably 
excellent. 

'  In  "  Posdnoi  Shtshee  "  or  "  Fasting  Shtshee  "  fish  is  used  instead 
of  meat,  oil  instead  of  butter,  &c.  The  lower  classes  eat  it  with  a  kind 
of  fish  not  larger  than  a  sprat,  boiled  skin  and  all  to  a  pulp,  and  to  give 
it  additional  flavour  a  portion  of  thick  oil  is  added. 

'"Botvinya"  is  another  right  Russian  dish,  and  nearly  akin  to 
shtshee.  The  latter  is  the  staple  of  the  Russian  table  the  whole  year 
through  ;  but  "Botvinya"  is  only  eaten  in  the  summer.  The  ingre- 
dients, which  are  warm  in  the  shtshee,  are  put  cold  into  the  botvinya, 
cold  kvas,  raw  herbs,  red  berries,  chopped  cucumbers,  and  lastly, 
salmon  or  some  other  fish  cut  into  square  lumps.  At  the  better  tables 
slices  of  lemon  are  sometimes  added,  toasted  black  bread  cut  small,  and, 
to  make  it  yet  cooler,  small  lumps  of  ice.' — Kohl. 

At  Novogorod,  the  waiter,  who  acted  as  caller  in  the 
morning,  lingered  in  the  room,  perfectly  certain  that  one 
could  not  dress  oneself — a  relic  of  serfdom.  The  plague  of 
mosquitoes  which  is  so  wearisome  at  Novogorod  is  attributed 
to  the  neighbouring  forests  and  lake.  It  was  always  thus. 

*  From  Revel  to  Moscow  are  nothing  but  woods,  fens,  lakes,  and 
rivers,  which  produces  such  abundance  of  flies,  gnats,  and  wasps,  that 
people  have  much  ado  to  keep  them  off,  having  their  faces  so  spotted, 
as  if  they  were  newly  recovered  from  the  small-pox.' — Ambassadors  of 
Holstein,  1633-1639. 

In  the  rugged  street  of  wooden  houses  which  is  now 
the  main  street  of  Novogorod,  we  first  heard  the  street- 
singers,  who  are  so  characteristic  of  Russia,  and  who  have 
carried  on  orally  for  many  hundreds  of  years  its  old  traditions 
and  stories.  They  are  of  two  kinds— the  skaziteli,  who 
sing  for  their  pleasure  and  that  of  their  friends,  and  the 
kalieki,  who  sing  for  their  daily  bread,  wandering  from 
village  to  village,  singing  whatever  they  know,  and  con- 


THE  KALIEKL  193 

tinually  learning  new  songs,  thus  increasing  and  dispensing 
their  poetic  store.1  Amongst  the  most  popular  subjects 
are  the  story  of  '  Mother  Volga '  of  '  Vladimir — the  beautiful 
sun,'  or  the  feats  of  Ilia  de  Mourom,  the  Samson  or  Hercules 
of  Russian  mythology. 

'  Dans  une  chanson  que  colportent  les  Kalieki,  ils  expliquent  a  leur 
facon  comment  a  pris  naissance  leur  corporation.  Elle  a  une  sainte 
origine,  et  c'est  une  mission  divine  qu'ils  ont  recue. 

'  C'etait  au  milieu  de  1'ete  brulant,  la  veille  de  1' Ascension  du  Christ  ; 
la  confrerie  des  pauvres  etait  tout  en  pleurs  :  Helas,  Christ,  tsar  du 
ciel,  a  qui  nous  laisses-tu  ?  a  qui  nous  confies-tu  ?  qui  voudra  nous 
nourrir  ?  qui  nous  donnera  des  vetements  et  des  chaussnres,  nous  pro- 
tegera  contre  la  sombre  nuit  ?  Et  le  Christ,  le  tsar  du  ciel,  leur  dit  : 
"Ne  pleurez  pas,  confrerie  des  pauvres,  je  vous  donnerai  une  mon- 
tagne  d'or.  Vous  saurez  bien  la  posseder,  la  partager  entre  vous ;  alors 
vous  serez  rassasies  et  contents,  habilles  et  chausses,  proteges  contre  la 
sombre  nuit."  Et  Jean  Bouche  d'Or  prend  la  parole:  "Christ,  tsar 
du  ciel,  permets-moi  de  dire  un  mot  pour  la  confrerie  des  pauvres,  des 
malheureux.  Ne  leur  donne  pas  une  montagne  d'or  ;  ils  ne  sauront 
pas  la  posseder,  ni  prendre  1'or,  ni  le  partager  entre  eux.  Bientot 
decouvriront  cette  montagne  les  princes  et  les  bo'iars.  Bientot  les 
eveques  et  les  puissants,  bientot  les  marchands.  Ils  leur  prendront 
leur  montagne,  leur  montagne  d'or ;  ils  partageront  1'or  entre  les 
princes,  et  les  riches  ne  laisseront  rien  aux  pauvres  diables.  II  sera 
1'occasion  de  maint  massacre,  de  maint  egorgement,  et  les  pauvres 
n'auront  rien  pour  vivre.  .  .  .  Donne  a  la  confrerie  des  pauvres  ton 
saint  nom.  Ils  s'en  iront  par  le  monde,  ils  glorifieront  le  Christ,  ils  le 
loueront  a  chaque  heure  ;  alors  ils  seront  contents  et  rassasies,  habilles 
et  chausses,  proteges  contre  la  sombre  nuit."  Et  le  Christ,  le  loi  du 
ciel,  dit :  "  Tres  bien,  Jean  Bouche  d'Or  !  Tu  as  su  dire  ton  mot  pour 
la.  confrerie  des  pauvres  ;  pour  toi  voici  une  bouche  d'or."  Et  nous, 
nous  chantons  :  Alleluia  !  ''—Alfred  Rcunbaud,  '•La  Russie  EpiqueS 

'  Les  chanteurs  ne  coinprennent  pas  toujours  ce  qu'ils  chantent  :  la 
langue  a  vieilli,  et  plus  d'un  vers  s'est  altere.  Si  on  leur  demande 
compte  d'une  expression  singuliere  ou  d'un  passage  obscur,  ils  repondent 
invariablement  :  "  Cela  se  chante  ainsi,"  ou  bien  :  "  Les  anciens  chan- 
taient  ainsi :  nous  ne  savons  ce  que  cela  veut  dire."  Aucun  detail 

1  Re-cue  des  Deux-Mondes,  Dec.  15,  1874. 

O 


194  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

merveilleux  ne  leur  semble  incroyable  ;  ils  admettent  tres  bien  qu'Ilia 
cle  Mourom  ait  pu  brandir  une  massue  de  1,600  livres  ou  tuer  d'une 
seule  fois  40,000  brigands.  Ils  pensent  simplement  que  les  hommes 
etaient  plus  forts  en  ce  temps-la  qu'aujourd'hui.' — Ibid. 

Tourgueneff  describes  the  song  of  a  peasant  enthusiast 
in  a  trial  of  skill  with  a  rival  in  a  tavern. 

'  Yakof  silently  gazed  around  him,  then  he  hid  his  face  in  his 
hands.  Everyone  watched  him  eagerly.  When  he  uncovered  his  face 
it  was  pale  as  that  of  a  corpse,  the  gleam  of  his  eyes  was  scarcely  seen 
through  their  drooping  lashes.  He  sighed  deeply,  and  he  sang.  The 
first  sound  was  feeble  and  hesitating,  and  did  not  seem  to  come  from 
his  chest,  but  from  far  away,  as  if  an  accident  had  wafted  it  into  the 
room.  This  so-trembling  sound  produced  a  weird  effect  upon  us  ;  we 
looked  at  one  another,  and  the  wife  of  the  publican  shuddered.  The 
first  sound  was  followed  by  another,  firmer,  and  more  prolonged,  but 
still  quite  trembling  ;  one  might  have  said  that  a  cord  had  been  sud- 
denly set  in  motion,  and  was  breathing  its  last  sigh.  Then  the  song, 
gaining  warmth  and  breath,  burst  forth  in  floods  of  melodious  sadness. 
.  .  .  Rarely  can  I  say  that  I  have  heard  a  voice  equal  to  it  ;  its  powers 
were  perhaps  upon  the  wane,  and  even  slightly  broken  ;  it  may  have 
had  something  of  weakness,  but  in  its  depths  were  true  and  deep 
passion,  youth  and  power,  sweetness,  and  a  melancholy — appealing, 
captivating.  A  true  ardent  Russian  soul  breathed  forth  in  it  and  went 
straight  to  your  heart.  The  song  continued.  Yakof  passed  into  a  kind 
of  ecstasy  ;  his  timidity  had  disappeared  :  his  genius  held  possession  of 
him.  His  voice  no  longer  hesitated  ;  though  it  still  trembled,  but  it 
was  with  that  inward  trembling  beyond  the  reach  of  passion,  which 
strikes  like  an  arrow  to  the  heart  of  the  auditor  :  it  even  rose  and  rose 
higher  in  its  intensity.  .  .  .  He  sang,  entirely  oblivious  of  his  rival  and 
of  all  of  us  ;  yet,  like  a  bold  swimmer  borne  upon  the  waves,  he  was 
stimulated  by  our  silent  and  passionate  sympathy.  He  sang,  and 
every  note  breathed  forth  an  inexpressible  degree  of  nationality,  of 
space  ;  it  was  as  if  the  steppe  unrolled  before  us  in  its  distant  infinity. 
I  felt  my  heart  swell,  and  my  eyes  fill  with  tears.  Smothered  sobs 
suddenly  drew  my  attention  ;  I  looked  ...  it  was  the  wife  of  the 
tavern-keeper  who  was  weeping,  leaning  against  the  window.  Yakof 
rapidly  glanced  at  her,  and  his  voice  took  a  softer  intonation.  The 
tavern-keeper  was  buried  in  thought  ;  Morgatch  had  turned  aside  ; 
Obaldou'i,  as  if  petrified,  sate  open-mouthed  ;  the  peasant  in  the  grey 


RUSSIAN  SINGERS.  195 

clothes  sobbed  quietly  in  a  corner,  and  shook  his  head  with  a  low 
moan  ;  upon  the  bronzed  face  of  Sauvage,  and  from  his  motionless 
eyelashes,  rolled  a  great  tear  ;  the  rival  lifted  his  closed  fist  to  the  sky. 
We  were  all  so  overcome  that  I  do  not  know  what  would  have  become 
of  us  if  Yakof  had  not  stopped  suddenly  short  upon  one  of  his  highest, 
most  ringing  notes.  No  one  uttered  a  sound,  no  one  moved,  all 
seemed  to  wait  what  was  coming.  Yakof  stared  as  if  our  silence 
astonished  him  ;  then,  having  looked  at  us  with  a  questioning  air,  he 
saw  that  the  victory  was  his.' — The  Singers. 


O  2 


196  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   V. 

MOSCOW. 

(THE  INNER  CIRCLES.) 

FORMERLY  the  journey  from  Novogorod  to  Moscow 
was  most  painfully  accomplished  in  ninety  hours  in 
a  kibitka — a  cart,  or  rather  a  cradle  for  two,  in  which  the 
driver,  wrapped  in  his  long  greatcoat,  called  an  armiak, 
sate  close  to  the  horses'  tails,  the  hinder  part  of  the  cart 
being  shaded  by  a  semicircular  hood  of  laths  covered  with 
birch  bark.  These  vehicles  have  no  springs,  and  are  fastened 
together  by  wooden  pegs.  The  luggage  is  placed  at  the 
bottom,  and  covered  by  a  mattress,  upon  which  an  abundant 
supply  of  feather-beds  alone  renders  the  jolting  endurable. 
The  drivers  wear  belts  with  bells  affixed  to  them,  though 
they  have  to  procure  an  order  (poderosnoy)  which  is  neces- 
sary for  this.  In  winter  1,000  sledges  bearing  food  from 
Moscow  to  S.  Petersburg  used  to  travel  along  the  main 
road  daily,  sometimes  accomplishing  the  journey  in  twenty- 
four  hours. 

Now,  happily,  it  is  only  necessary  to  resort  to  kibitkas 
in  out-of-the-way  places,  and  the  Russian  railways  would 
be  luxurious,  if  it  were  not  for  the  strong  tobacco  which  all 
the  natives  smoke  incessantly  in  every  carriage,  even  ladies 


VALDAI.  197 

demolishing  ten  or  twelve  cigarettes  during  a  night.  There 
is  a  long  halt  at  Tchudova,  where  trains  are  changed  and 
where  there  is  an  excellent  buffet,  though  those  who  are 
unaccustomed  to  it  will  be  overpowered  by  the  fumes  of 
the  cabbage-soup  which  Russians  think  so  delicious.  A 
proverb  says  that  the  three  mightiest  gods  of  the  Russians 
are  Tshin,  Tshai,  and  Shtshee — rank,  tea,  and  cabbage-soup. 

'  "  My  son  Wassaja  is  dead, "said  the  woman  in  a  low  tone,  and  the 
pent-up  tears  flowed  afresh  clown  her  hollow  cheeks,  "  and  now  my  end 
also  is  near.  The  head  of  my  living  body  has  been  taken  away  from 
me  !  .  .  .  But  is  that  any  reason  for  spoiling  the  soup  ?  It  is  nicely 
salted.'" — Ivan  Tourgueneff,  '  SeniliaS 

The  country  is  almost  entirely  forest,  always  pretty,  but 
offering  nothing  to  remark,  except,  for  the  thousandth  time, 
that  there  are  scarcely  any  trees  fn  Russia  except  fir,  alder, 
and  willow,  and  the  melancholy  birch,  with  its  shimmering 
leaves,  which  accompanies  a  traveller  from  the  frontier  to 
Moscow.  The  wooden  stations  all  have  brilliant  little 
gardens. 

There  are  very  few  towns  in  European  Russia,  as  only 
a  tenth  part  of  the  population  live  in  towns.  Indeed,  there 
are  only  eleven  cities  with  as  many  as  50,000  inhabitants. 
The  only  town  the  railway  passes  through  is  Tver.  Before 
reaching  this,  we  skirt  the  heights  of  Valdai,  conical  hillocks, 
but  considered  mountainous  in  this  country.  In  the  eyes 
of  the  common  people  they  are  eyesores.  Russian  folk-lore, 
which  has  a  reason  for  everything,  thus  accounts  for  their 
existence: — 

'  When  the  Lord  was  about  to  fashion  the  face  of  the  earth,  He 
ordered  the  Devil  to  dive  into  the  watery  depths  and  bring  thence  a 
handful  of  the  soil  he  found  at  the  bottom.  The  Devil  obeyed  ;  but 


198  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

when  he  filled  his  hand,  he  filled  his  mouth  also.  The  Lord  took  the 
soil,  sprinkled  it  around,-  and  the  Earth  appeared,  all  perfectly  flat. 
The  Devil,  whose  mouth  was  quite  full,  looked  on  for  some  time  in 
silence.  At  last  he  tried  to  speak,  but  was  choked,  and  fled  in  terror. 
After  him  followed  the  thunder  and  the  lightning,  and  so  he  rushed 
over  the  face  of  the  earth,  hills  springing  up  where  he  coughed,  and 
sky-cleaving  mountains  where  he  leaped.' — Ralston  (from  Tereschenko], 
*  Russian  Folk  Tales. ' 

Valdai  is  celebrated  for  the  sweetness  of  its  silver-toned 
bells,  and  for  its  lake,  and  the  monastery  which  the  Tsar 
Alexis  founded  as  a  halfway  house  for  the  famous  Nikon 
on  his  frequent  journeys  between  Novogorod  and  Moscow. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  heart  of  the  Russian  empire 
beats  at  Tver,  which  is  a  prosperous  manufacturing  town. 
The  traveller  interested  in  Russian  history  u  ill  linger  there 
(Miiller's  Hotel),  for  there,  ;n  the  Otroch  Monastery  (Otrotchi 
Monastyr),  S.  Philip,  the  Becket  of  Russia,  was  martyred 
under  Ivan  the  Terrible.  There  is  also  an  interesting 
cathedral  of  1682,  in  which  many  of  the  princes  of  Tver 
are  buried,  and  the  feeble  and  treacherous  Grand-Prince 
Yaroslaf,  who  died  in  1272  after  an  ignominious  submission 
to  the  Tartars.  Of  the  princes  of  Tver,  who  have  graves 
here,  the  most  remarkable  was  Michael,  who  in  1400  touch- 
ingly  besought  the  benedictions  of  his  people,  even  of  the 
beggars  in  the  church  porch,  just  before  his  death.1 

A  more  interesting  tomb  is  that  of  the  Grand-Prince 
Michael  II.,  whose  succession  was  illegally  disputed  by  his 
cousin  George  Danielovitch  of  Moscow.  Brave  as  a  hero, 
Michael  was  entirely  victorious  over  the  armies  of  George, 
though  the  latter  was  supported  by  the  troops  .of  the  Tartar 
Khan,  whose  sister  he  had  married.  George,  his  wife,  and  the 

1  Karamsin,  v. 


TVER.  199 

Tartar  generals  fell  into  the  hands  of  Michael,  and  as  they 
were  kindly  treated,  the  Tartars  swore  to  be  his  friends  for 
the  future.  But,  unfortunately,  the  Mongol  princess 
Kontchaka  died  in  the  camp,  and  George  set  abroad  the 
report  that  she  had  been  poisoned  by  the  conqueror.  The 
Prince  of  Tver  was  then  persuaded  to  go  in  person  to  the 
trial  of  his  cause  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Khan,  where 
George  was  permitted  to  seize  him,  and  to  drag  him,  laden 
with  irons,  to  Dediahof. 

'  Des  bo'iars  de  Michel  lui  avaient  propose  de  fair ;  il  refusa,  ne 
voulant  pas  exposer  son  peuple  a  payer  pour  lui.  Georges  se  donna 
tant  de  mouvement,  repandit  tant  d'argent,  qu'enfin  1'ordre  de  mort 
arriva.  Un  des  pages  de  Michel  entra  tout  effrayedans  la  tente  qui  lui 
servait  de  cachot,  pour  lui  dire  que  Georges  et  Kavgadi  approchaient, 
suivis  d'une  multitude  de  peuple.  "Je  sais  pourquoi,"  repondit  le 
prince,  et  il  envoya  son  jeune  fils  Constantin  chez  1'une  des  femmes 
clu  Khan  qui  clevait  le  prendre  sous  sa  sauvegarde.  Ses  deux  ennemis 
mirent  pied  a  terre  pres  de  la  tente,  disperserent  les  bo'iars  de  Tver  et 
envoyerent  leurs  sicaires  assassiner  le  prince.  On  le  terrassa,  on  le 
foula  aux  pieds  ;  comme  pour  Michel  de  Tchernigof,  ce  ne  fut  pas  un 
Mongol  qui  le  poignarda  et  lui  arracha  le  coeur,  mais  un  renegat 
nomme  Romanetz.  Alors  Georges  et  Kavgadi  entrerent  et  contem- 
plerent  le  cadavre  completement  nu  :  "Eh  quoi  !"  dit  le  Tatar  au 
prince  de  Moscou,  "  laisserez-vous  outrager  le  corps  de  celui  qui  fut 
votre  oncle  ? "  Un  sevviteur  de  Georges  jeta  un  manteau  sur  la  victime. 
Michel  fut  pleure  par  les  Tveriens.  Son  corps,  incorrompu  comme 
celui  d'un  martyr,  fut  plus  tard  depose  a  la  cathedrale  de  Tver  dans  une 
chasse  d'argent.  II  est  devenu  le  bienheureux  et  le  patron  de  sa  cite. 
Sur  les  murailles  de  la  cathedrale,  des  peintures  anciennes  et  modernes 
rappellent  son  martyre  et  fletris-sent  le  crime  du  Moscovite.' — Rambaud> 
'  Hist,  de  la  Russie. ' 

George  was  eventually  killed  (1305)  by  the  hand  of 
'  Dmitri  of  the  Terrible  Eyes,'  son  of  Michael,  who  paid 
with  his  own  life  for  this  vengeance  for  his  father.  His 
brother  and  successor,  Alexander,  last  sovereign  prince, 


200  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

falsely  accused  by  Ivan  Kalika,  of  Moscow,  was  beheaded, 
with  his  son  Feodor,  and  Tver  soon  after  fell  into  complete 
subservience  to  Moscow,  to  which  its  great  bell  was  sent  in 
token  of  submission. 

(From  Tver  an  excursion,  by  Volga  steamer,  may  be 
made  to  Uglitch  (125  miles),  an  ancient  town  dating  from 
the  middle  of  the  tenth  century.  In  its  palace,  which  stands 
in  the  principal  square,  and  was  built  in  1462,  the  Tsaritsa 
Marpha  Feodorovna  (Nagoi),  seventh  wife  and  widow  of 
Ivan  the  Terrible,  was  forced  to  live  in  a  sort  of  honourable 
exile  during  the  reign  of  her  stepson  Feodor  Ivanovitch 
and  his  successor,  and  hence  she  was  summoned  by  the 
false  Demetrius,  and  compelled  to  acknowledge  him  as  the 
son  Dmitri  whom  she  had  seen  cruelly  murdered  in  this 
same  old  palace  of  Uglitch  by  order  of  Boris  Godunof.) 

After  leaving  Tver,  the  Moscow  line  passes  through 
A7/«,  the  ancestral  residence  of  the  house  of  Romanoff. 
The  night  is  spent  in  repose,  not  sleep.  The  constant  stop- 
pages interrupt  it,  and  the  cries  of  '  Tchai,  tchai  ! '  (tea,  tea) 
(boiling  hot  in  glasses)  from  the  platforms.  In  the  morning 
you  drink  some  of  this,  with  slices  of  lemon  in  it,  and  pre- 
pare to  enter  Moscow — '  Our  holy  Mother  Moscow,'  as  the 
peasants  call  it,  even  apostrophising  the  road  which  leads 
to  it  as  'our  dear  mother  the  road  which  leads  to  Moscow.' ' 

There  is  no  beauty  in  the  approach  to  Moscow  'the 
white-walled,'  the  matouchka,  long  the  centre  and  embodi- 
ment of  the  ancient  Russian  character.  The  huge  rough 
station  with  the  rugged  dusty  plain  by  way  of  a  square,  in 
front  of  it,  are  only  characteristic  of  the  whole  place,  which 
is  twenty-four  miles  round  and  nine  miles  across,  which 

1  Haxthausen,  iii.  151. 


THE  DIVISIONS   OF  MOSCOW.  201 

possesses  nine  cathedrals,  484  churches,  and  twenty-two 
convents  ;  and  yet  which  has  never  arrived  at  being  a  town, 
and  has  always  remained  a  gigantic  and  ill-conditioned 
village. 

The  different  quarters  of  Moscow  radiate  in  circles  round 
the  Kremlin,  and  it  is  a  long  drive  through  them  from 
the  station  in  an  omnibus.  First,  we  have  the  vast  and 
shabby  Sloboda  or  suburb,  then  the  Semlainogorod,  so  called 
from  the  circular  earthen  rampart  which  encompasses  it. 
Next  comes  the  Biclgorod,  or  White  Town,  so  called  from  its 
white  wall,  within  which  the  Tartars  made  the  Russian  in- 
habitants reside,  when  they  turned  them  out  of  the  inner 
city.  Lastly,  we  reach  the  Khitaigorod,  or  Tartar  Town, 
beyond  which  is  the  Kremlin.  As  we  jolt  over  the  horrible 
pavement,  through  seas  of  mud  or  clouds  of  dust,  we  see  a 
good  specimen  of  the  jumble  which  makes  Moscow—  wretched 
hovels  next  door  to  stately  dwellings,  houses  of  rough 
timber,  brick,  or  plaster  ;  innumerable  churches,  which  have 
all  the  appearance  of  mosques,  with  domes  of  copper  or  tin, 
gilt  or  painted  green — the  whole  forming  a  conglomeration, 
than  which  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  anything  more  irregular 
or  uncommon,  more  extraordinary  or  contrasted ;  some 
parts  having  the  aspect  of  a  sequestered  desert,  others  of  a 
populous  town  •  some  of  a  contemptible  village,  others  of  a 
great  capital.1 

But  however  mean  and  uncivilised  Moscow  may  at  first 
appear  to  the  eyes  of  the  stranger  who  enters  it,  he  must 
remember  that  in  Russian  eyes  it  is  beautiful,  holy,  and 
noble  beyond  description  ;  and,  if  he  keeps  his  own  eyes 
open,  he  will  soon  cease  to  find  fault,  and  see  much  to 

1  See  Coxe's  Travels. 


202  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

admire  in  it.  Those  who  mix  with  the  nation  will  always 
find  that  Slavophils  contrast  the  old  capital  very  favourably 
with  the  modern  S.  Petersburg,1  and  the  ancient  tsars  with 
the  modern  emperors.  The  Russian  Mouravieff  graciously 
considers  Rome  to  be  interesting  because  it  reminds  him  of 
Moscow;  'but  then  it  is  Moscow  without  the  Kremlin.'2 
Certainly  no  place,  except  Rome  and  Jerusalem,  has  a  hold 
upon  so  large  a  portion  of  Christendom  as  Moscow. 

'  La  vraie  Russie  est  a  Moscou.  La  vieille  et  sainte  capitale  est 
restee  le  coeur  et  I'ame  de.  1'empire.  C'est  le  foyer  de  la  vie  nationale, 
c'est  la  "mere,"  conime  le  Russe  1'appelle,  et  quand  son  regard 
decouvre  les  coupoles  d'or  du  Kremlin,  il  se  signe,  s'agenouille  et  prie.' 
Victor  Tissot. 

A  wall  and  gate  of  Tartar  architecture  guard  the  Khitai- 
gorod,  which  Voltaire,  in  his  'Life  of  Peter  the  Great,' 
writes  of  aj  '  la  partie  appelee  ville  chinoise,  ou  les  raretes 
de  la  Chine  s'etalaient.'  This  division  of  the  town,  how- 
ever, bore  its  name  long  before  there  was  any  intercourse 
between  Russia  and  China  ;  the  word  Cathay  or  Khitai,3 
which  probably  means  the  Middle  Town  (between  the 
Kremlin  and  Bielgorod),  having  been  introduced  by  the 
Tartars  when  they  turned  out  the  Russian  inhabitants,  and 
made  them  build  outside  in  the  Bielgorod.  The  impression 
that  this  was  the  '  Chinese  Town '  must  partly  have  arisen  from 
the  appearance  of  the  surrounding  towers,  huge  at  the  base, 


1  Since  the  creation  of  S.  Petersburg,  Moscow  has  always  evinced  a  more  inde- 
pendent spirit  than  the  rest  of  Russia.  Catherine  II.  used  to  call  it  her  'haughty 
little  republic.' 

"  Questions  Religieuses,  p.  270. 

3  There  is  another  town  in  the  Ukraine  called  Khitaigorod,  and  another  of  the 
same  name  in  Podolia,  both  provinces  unknown  to  the  Chinese,  and  overrun  with 
Tartars. 


THE  KHITAIGOROD.  203 

diminishing  with  each  story  like  those  in  China,  and  crowned 
by  octagonal  or  four-sided  spires.  The  towers,  however, 
were  really  erected  by  an  Italian  architect,  under  the  regency 
of  the  Grand-Princess  Helena,  mother  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

Beside  the  strange  gate  of  the  Khitaigorod  stands  a 
church  with  the  quaintest  pineapple-tower  imaginable. 
Under  its  shadow  we  enter  a  street  which  contrasts 
strangely  with  the  deserted  thoroughfares  outside  the  walls 
of  the  quarter,  and  into  which  all  the  traffic  of  Moscow 
seems  to  be  compressed.  The  centre  is  filled  with  droskies 
with  vociferating  drivers,  and  the  pavement  crowded  with 
foot-passengers,  whilst  between  the  two  stand  the  itinerant 
vendors,  who  deafen  you  with  their  shouts,  especially  fruit- 
sellers  with  piles  of  pears  and  little  purple  and  green  grapes, 
fresh  from  the  Crimea,  and  of  marvellous  cheapness. 

In  a  deafening  hubbub  you  are  landed  at  the  Slavonski 
Bazaar,  the  huge  hotel  to  which  most  travellers  resort  who 
wish  to  study  Russian  life.  Groups  of  servants  in  short 
black  blouses  with  belts,  jack-boots,  and  round  caps  en- 
circled by  peacock's  feathers,  are  always  standing  round 
the  door.  The  refreshment-room  is  enormous,  of  colossal 
height,  with  a  great  buffet  at  one  end,  whither  the  Russians 
resort  before  dinner  for  the  customary  zakuska  of  pickles, 
sardines,  vodki,  &c.  In  the  centre  of  the  hall  are  a  fountain 
and  tank  full  of  fish.  You  sit  down  at  one  of  the  little  tables 
by  the  tank,  and  indicate  the  fish  which  you  wish  to  eat, 
and  it  will  forthwith  be  caught  and  prepared  for  you.  Sterlet 
and  sturgeon,  cooked  in  different  ways,  are  the  chief  deli- 
cacies of  a  Moscow  dinner.  The  hotel  has  a  bill  of  fare — 
generally  very  nasty  fare— for  the  day.  Almost  all  the  meats 
are  stewed,  almost  all  the  vegetables  are  nearly  uncooked  ; 


204  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

a  strong  rancid  smell  of  cabbage  pervades  everything. 
Strangers  will  probably  find  it  best,  Russian  fashion,  to  pay 
for  every  meal,  as  soon  as  they  have  consumed  it,  with  the 
addition  of  a  few  kopecks  for  the  waiter,  for  the  confusion  is 
indescribable.  The  bills  for  your  rooms,  lights,  attendance, 
&c.,  are  brought  to  you  daily  ;  if  they  are  not  paid  at  once, 
they  should  be  carefully  preserved  till  you  leave  the  hotel, 
as  a  very  necessary  check  upon  the  charges  at  the  end  of 
your  stay. 

All  the  principal  hotels  in  Moscow  are  now  very  clean,1 
and  greatly  improved  since  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
when  a  traveller  wrote  : — • 

'  They  demand  three  roubles  a  day  for  a  single  room,  or  kennel,  in 
which  an  Englishman  would  blush  to  keep  his  dogs.  The  dirt  on  the 
floor  may  be  removed  only  with  an  iron  hoe,  or  a  shovel.  These  places 
are  entirely  destitute  of  beds.  They  consist  of  bare  walls,  with  two  or 
three  old  stuffed  chairs,  ragged,  rickety,  and  full  of  vermin.  The  walls 
themselves  are  still  more  disgusting,  as  the  Russians  load  them  with  the 
most  abominable  filth.' — Clarke's  '  Travels.' 

Almost  every  one  whom  strangers  are  likely  to  fall  in 
with  at  Moscow  is  one  that  the  English  mind  will  consider 
more  or  less  of  a  thief.  The  driver  of  your  droski,  who  is 
so  civil  in  saluting  everyone  he  meets,  and  so  devout  in 
bowing  before  every  icon  or  chapel,  will  usually  contrive  to 
steal  something,  if  it  be  only  of  the  value  of  a  piece  of  string, 
that  he  may  not  return  home  quite  empty-handed.  In  this 
respect  matters  are  not  much  improved  since  the  traveller 
Clarke  was  in  Moscow.  His  companion  lost  his  hat.  The 
servants  said  that  it  had  been  stolen  by  a  young  nobleman,  but 
their  masters  would  not  believe  it.  Some  days  afterwards, 

1  Hotel  Billo  and  Hotel  Dusaux  are  probably  the  best. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  MOSCOW.  205 

as  Clarke  was  riding  to  the  New  Jerusalem,  he  was  joined  by 
a  party  of  the  societe  de  noblesse  on  horseback.  The  hat  of 
one  of  them  was  blown  off,  and  when  Clarke  succeeded  in 
picking  it  up,  he  saw  the  name  of  his  companion  and  the 
address  of  his  hatter  on  the  inside.  There  is  a  Russian 
proverb  which  says,  'Our  Saviour  would  rob  also  if  His 
hands  were  not  pierced.' 

In  ancient  times  the  plains  of  the  south  were  far  more 
open  than  the  forests  of  the  north  to  the  manifold  attacks 
of  Avares,  Khazars,  Magyars,  Petcheneques,  Koumanes, 
Turks,  and  Mongols  ;  thus  the  Russians  were  perpetually 
driven  north,  the  seat  of  government  moving  with  them. 
Moscow  is  said  to  have  been  originally  founded  by  Oleg, 
brother-in-law  of  Rurik,  in  882,  but  it  was  refounded  and 
entirely  rebuilt  by  George  Vladimirovitz,  who  married  his 
son  Andrei  to  its  heiress,  Vlita,  daughter  of  Stephen  Ivano- 
vitz  Kutchko,  in  1155.  The  name  Moscow  first  appears  in 
chronicles  bearing  the  date  of  ii47-1  Under  the  successors 
of  Vladimirovitz  the  city  fell  into  decay,  and  it  was  again 
refounded  by  Daniel,  son  of  Alexander  Nevskoi.  The  early 
princes  of  Moscow  were  contented  to  take  the  humble  title 
of  servants  of  the  Tartar  Khans,  and  thus,  and  thus  alone, 
rose  to  become  powerful  monarchs.2 

The  original  Kremlin  was  built  by  Daniel,  who  received 
the  title  of  Duke  of  Moscow.  Becoming  attached  to  the 
place,  he  continued  to  reside  there  after  he  succeeded  his 
brother  Andrew  Alexandra vitch  as  Grand- Duke  of  Vladimir. 
But  Moscow  did  not  become  recognised  as  the  capital  of 
Moscovy  (instead  of  Vladimir)  till  the  reign  of  Ivan  Kalita,3 

Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Russie.  '  See  Karamsin. 

:1  From  kalita,  the  bag  full  of  money  which  he  always  carried  for  his  alms   to 
the  poor. 


2o6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

son  of  Daniel  (Ivan  I.,  1328-1340),  who  induced  the  metro- 
politan Theognostes  to  move  to  Moscow  from  Vladimir, 
whither  he  had  been  brought  from  Kieff.  Ivan  greatly  en- 
larged  the  town,  and  in  1367  his  son  Dmitri  Ivanovitch 
surrounded  the  Kremlin  with  a  brick  wall.  This,  however, 
was  insufficient  to  protect  it  from  the  Golden  Horde  under 
Tamerlane,  who  captured  the  town  in  1382,  after  which, 
through  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  Moscow  re- 
mained under  the  rule  of  the  Tartars  ;  who  were  only  finally 
expelled  by  Ivan  Vassilievitch,  commonly  known  as  Ivan 
III.,  or  the  Great,  to  whom  the  city  owes  its  chief  splendour. l 

In  spite  of  Tartar  ravages,  in  spite  of  the  great  fire  under 
the  French  occupation  of  1812,  'Nasha  drevnaya  stolitza' 
— 'our  old  capital,'  as  the  natives  affectionately  call  it — has 
been  changed  marvellously  little  by  the  lapse  of  years.  The 
Baron  d'Herbestein,  ambassador  from  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian to  the  Grand-Duke  Vassili,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  has  left  a  description  of  the  town,  and 
especially  a  description  of  the  Kremlin,  which  would  almost 
stand  for  them  as  they  are  now. 

The  impress  of  its  long  Tartar  occupation  still  remains 
upon  Moscow,  on  its  buildings,  on  its  customs,  on  the 
barbaric  splendour  of  its  ceremonial.  Long  after  the  Eastern 
rule  had  ceased,  Eastern  customs  prevailed  at  its  court.  A 
picture  at  the  entrance  of  the  great  hall  of  the  Kremlin, 
representing  Joshua  taking  off  his  shoes,  commemorated  that 
practice  which  was  long  observed  in  the  presence  of  the 
Tsars.  The  Terem  and  its  customs  continued  to  recall  the 
harems  of  the  East.  The  arrangements  are  still  to  be  seen 

1  Some  say  that  the  name  of  the  Khitaigorod  comes  from  a  nickname  of  the 
prince. 


THE   GREAT  BAZAAR.  207 

which  permitted  the  Tsaritsa  to  hear  mass  during  the  forty 
days  after  her  confinement  in  which  she  was  not  permitted 
to  enter  a  church.  The  very  name,  of  '  Christianin,'  as  given 
to  a  Russian  peasant,  is  a  relic  of  the  Tartar  occupation, 
when  it  was  a  distinctive  feature.  The  Tartars  still  always 
speak  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia  as  'the  White  Khan.' 

Truly  Asiatic  also  are  still  the  long  narrow  passages  of 
the  Great  Bazaar — Gostinnoi  Dvor — which  opens  on  the 
left  of  the  main  street  of  the  Khitaigorod,  the  Tartar  '  City  of 
Kathay,'  as  we  go  towards  the  Kremlin.  Whenever  you 
are  too  hot  elsewhere,  you  may  plunge  into  its  cool  inviting 
shadows,  and  you  are  sure  to  find  amusement  there.  One 
arcade  is  full  of  icons  ancient  and  modern  ;  another  has 
gold  and  silver  stuffs  and  brocades  ;  another  has  bird  shops, 
where  the  song  of  nightingales  resounds  through  the  night, 
and  they  have  a  brisk  sale,  for  the  birds  are  great  favourites, 
and  sing  as  well  in  Moscow  houses  as  in  the  woods.  Some 
of  the  fifty-five  open  galleries  are  broad  and  almost  silent ; 
others,  narrow  and  crowded,  are  busy  as  a  beehive.  In  the 
latter,  touters  are  always  lying  in  wait,  who  will  try  to  lure 
you,  almost  to  drag  you,  into  the  different  stalls.  Here  a  pur- 
chase is  very  laborious.  The  customer  must  begin  by  offering 
not  more  than  half  what  is  demanded.  The  price  comes 
down,  but  very  slowly.  At  last  the  purchaser  grows  wearied, 
the  article  is  put  back  upon  the  shelf,  and  he  goes  away. 
Very  soon  he  is  pursued  by  the  tout,  with  a  smiling,  '  You 
shall  have  it  ! '  And  the  purchaser  may  be  sure  that  he  has 
made  nothing  by  his  bargain.  Peter  the  Great  said  that  it 
needed  three  Jews  to  deceive  one  Russian  ;  and  to  the  Jews 
who  asked  leave  to  live  in  his  Empire,  he  answered,  '  Your 
position  in  Russia  would  be  too  miserable  :  you  have  the 


208  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

reputation  of  cheating  all  the  world,  but  my  Russians  would 
be  too  much  for  you.' 

'  II  est  vray  que  les  Moscovites  ne  manquent  point  d'esprit  ;  mais 
ils  1'employent  si  mal,  qu'il  n'y  a  pas  une  de  leurs  actions,  qui  ait  pour 
le  but  la  vertu,  et  la  gloire,  qui  en  est  inseparable.  .  .  .  Leur  Industrie 
et  la  subtilite  de  leur  esprit  paroist  principalement  en  leur  traffic,  oil  il 
n'y  a  point  de  finesse,  ny  de  tromperie  dont  ils  ne  se  servent,  pour 
fourber  les  autres,  plustost  que  pour  se  defendre  de  1'estre.' — '  Voyage 
<T Olearius ,"*  i.  145. 

'  Et  d'autant  que  la  tromperie  ne  s'exerce  point  sans  faussete,  sans 
menteries  et  sans  defiances,  qui  en  sont  inseparables,  il  scavent  mer- 
veilleusement  bien  s'ayder  de  ces  belles  qualites,  aussi  bien  que  de  la 
calomnie.' — Ibid.  p.  146. 

Now  we  reach  the  Krasnoi  Ploshtshad,  the  Red  Square, 
a  rude  rambling  space  which  is  girt  on  one  side  by  the  walls 
of  the  Kremlin.  On  this  side  the  square  is  planted  with 
miserable  trees  which  have  just  enough  life  to  prevent  their 
dying,  laden  with  dust  in  summer,  buried  in  snow  in  winter, 
and  lopped,  cropped,  and  mutilated  all  the  year  round.  A 
group  of  sculpture  by  the  Russian  artist  Martop  represents 
Minin,  the  cattle-dealer  of  Nijni,  urging  the  patriot  prince 
Pojarskoi  to  free  his  country,  then  invaded  by  the  Poles, 
and  giving  up  his  wealth  for  this  heroic  enterprise.1 

At  the  end  of  the  square  the  coloured  nightmare  known 
as  the  church  of  the  Protection  of  the  Virgin,  S.  Basil  the 
Beatified  (Vassili  Blagennoi),2  the  strangest  of  all  Russian 


*  Minin  was  buried  at  Nijni,  amongst  the  tombs  of  its  ancient  dukes,  but  tombs 
and  church  have  been  moved  from  their  ancient  site.  On  the  subject  of  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Poles  by  Minin  and  Pojarskoi,  see  the  novel  of  Zagoskin.  called  Youri 
Miloslavski. 

2  The  first  name  had  its  origin  in  the  vision  of  Andrew  Salos  at  Constantinople  in 
the  time  of  Leo  the  Great,  when  he  saw  the  Virgin  in  the  clouds.  The  Greeks  call 
the  festival  in  honour  of  this  '  the  Protection  of  the  Mother  of  God. '--See '  Travels  of 
Ma.ca.rius,'  iii.  315. 


S.  BASIL    THE  BEATIFIED. 


209 


churches,  displays  its  'incoherences  of  architecture,'  as 
Laveau  graphically  calls  them.  This  church  was  founded  by 
Ivan  the  Terrible  (1534-1584)  who  had  sent  an  embassy 
for  the  purpose  of  engaging  German  artists,  of  whom  he 
secured  not  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  for  his  service. 
The  Germans,  however,  must  have  worked  from  Tartar 
designs,  and  have  left  a  purely  Tartar  building.  It  is  a 


5.    BASIL   THE    BEATIFIED. 


central  octagon,  surrounded  by  eight  smaller  ones,  raised  on 
a  platform,  and  with  a  crypt  beneath.  The  interior  is  a 
labyrinth  of  chapels  with  immensely  thick  walls,  painted  in 
arabesque.  Napoleon  ordered  '  that  mosque '  to  be  destroyed, 
but  his  orders  were  fortunately  forgotten. 

'  Figurez-vous  une  agglomeration  de  petites  tourelles  inegales, 
composant  ensemble  un  buisson,  un  bouquet  de  fleurs  ;  figurez-vous 
plutot  une  espece  de  fruit  irregulier,  tout  herisse  d'excroissances,  un 

P 


2io  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

melon  cantaloup,  a  cotes  brodees,  ou  mieux  encore  une  cristallisation 
cle  mille  couleurs,  dont  le  poli  metallique  a  des  reflets  qui  brillent  cle 
loin  aux  rayons  du  soleil  comme  le  verre  de  Boheme  ou  de  Venise, 
comme  la  faience  cle  Delft  la  plus  bariolee,  comme  1'email  de  la  Chine 
le  mieux  verni :  ce  sont  des  ecailles  des  poissons  dores,  des  peaux  de 
serpents  etendues  sur  des  tas  de  pierres  informes,  des  tetes  de  dragons, 
des  armures  de  lezards  a  teintes  changeantes,  des  ornements  d'autel, 
des  habits  de  pretres  ;  et  le  tout  est  surmonte  de  fleches  dont  la  peinture 
ressemble  a  des  etoffes  de  soie  mordoree  :  dans  les  etroits  intervalles  de 
ces  campaniles,  ornes  comme  on  parerait  des  personnes,  vous  voyez 
reluire  des  toits  peints  en  couleur  gorge  de  pigeon,  en  rose,  en  azur, 
et  toujours  bien  vernis  ;  le  scintillement  de  ces  tapisseries  eblouit  1'ceil 
et  fascine  Fimagination.  Certes,  le  pays  oil  un  pareil  monument 
s'appelle  un  lieu  de  priere,  n'est  pas  1'Europe  :  c'est  PInde,  la  Perse,  la 
Chine.' — M.  de  Cttstine. 

1  Some  of  the  stones  of  the  cupolas  are  cut  on  the  sides,  others  not ; 
some  are  three-sided,  some  four-sided  ;  the  sides  are  sometimes  smooth  ; 
some  are  ribbed,  or  fluted  ;  some  of  the  flutes  are  perpendicular,  and 
some  wind  in  spiral  ribs  round  the  cupola.  To  render  the  kaleidoscope 
appearance  yet  more  perfect,  every  rib  and  every  side  is  painted  of  a 
different  colour.  Those  neither  cut  in  sides  nor  ribbed  are  scaled  with 
little  smooth,  glazed,  and  painted  bricks  ;  and,  when  these  scales  are 
closely  examined,  they  even  are  seen  to  differ  from  one  another  ;  some 
are  oval,  others  cut  like  leaves.  The  greater  part  of  the  cupola-crowned 
towers  have  a  round  body,  but  not  all  ;  there  are  six-sided  and  eight- 
sided  towers.  In  short,  when  from  one  of  the  upper  galleries  we  look 
down  on  all  the  jagged  and  pointed  confusion,  we  are  inclined  to  believe 
we  are  gazing  on  a  field  of  giant  thistles,  some  half  and  some  fully 
blown,  that  have  sprung  from  antediluvian  seed,  and  been  changed  to 
stone  by  the  stroke  of  an  enchanter.' — Kohl. 

Ivan  the  Terrible  is  said  to  have  watched  the  creation 
of  this  extraordinary  building,  seated  under  the  strange 
pagoda-like  canopy  which  is  still  to  be  seen  upon  the 
Kremlin  wall.  The  church  commemorated  the  taking  of 
Kazan,  which  is  to  the  Russians  what  the  taking  of  Granada 
is  to  the  Spaniards. 

'  This  church,  half  Oriental,  half  Gothic,  is  a  glorious  monument  of 
victory,  and  a  sort  of  image  of  the  conquered  city  of  Kazan  which  had 


S.  BASIL    THE  BEATIFIED.  211 

come   under   the   shadow   of  the    antique   sanctuary   of    Moscow.'— 
Mouravieff,  ch.  v. 

The  idiot  '  S.  Basil  of  Moscow,'  who  had  been  buried  in 
an  earlier  wooden  church  on  the  site  in  1552,  was  removed  to 
the  place  of  honour  in  the  midst  of  the  intricate  labyrinth  of 
passages  and  chapels  which  make  up  the  interior,  where  he 
reposes,  with  his  iron  chains  and  collar  above  his  grave  ;  and 
another  idiot,  Ivan,  called  the  Big  Cap,  from  the  iron  helmet 
which  he  wore  as  penance,  was  laid  here  by  Feodor,  son  of 
Ivan  the  Terrible,  in  1589.  Both  the  holy  idiots  were  probably 
of  the  type  described  by  Dr.  Giles  Fletcher  in  1588: — 

'  There  are  certain  eremites  who  use  to  go  stark  naked,  save  a  clout 
about  their  middle,  with  their  hair  hanging  long  and  wildly  about  their 
shoulders,  and  many  of  them  with  an  iron  collar  or  chain  about  their 
necks  and  middles  even  in  the  very  extremity  of  winter.  These  they 
take  as  prophets  and  men  of  great  holiness,  giving  them  a  liberty  to 
speak  what  they  list  without  any  controlment,  though  it  be  of  the 
very  highest  himself.1  So  that  if  he  reprove  any  openly,  in  what 
sort  soever,  they  answer  nothing,  but  that  it  is  Po  Grecum^  "  for  their 
sins"  And  if  any  of  them  take  some  piece  of  sale  ware  from  any 
man's  shop  as  he  passeth  by,  to  give  where  he  list,  he  thinketh  himself 
much  beloved  of  God,  and  much  beholden  to  the  holy  man  for  taking 
it  in  that  sort.  The  people  liketh  very  well  of  them,  because  they  are 
as  pasquils  (pasquins)  to  note  their  great  men's  faults,  that  no  man  else 
dare  speak  of.  Yet  it  falleth  out  sometimes  that  for  this  rude  liberty 
which  they  take  upon  them,  after  a  counterfeit  manner  by  imitation  of 
prophets,  they  are  made  away  in  secret  ;  as  was  one  or  two  of  them  in 
the  late  Emperor's  time  for  being  over  bold  in  speaking  against  the 
government.  ...  Of  this  kind  there  are  not  many,  because  it  is  a  very 
hard  and  cold  profession  to  go  naked  in  Russia,  especially  in  winter.' 

The  idiot  Basil  himself  is  mentioned  by  Fletcher. 

1  Peter  the  Great,  who  took  a  common-sense  view  of  these  '  eremites,'  ordained 
that,  at  their  consecration,  all  Russian  bishops  should  swear  to  give  up  to  the  civil 
authorities  all  'impostors  who  go  about  as  possessed,  with  bare  feet  and  in  their 
shirts,  that  they  may  drive  out  the  evil  spirits  from  them  with  the  knout.1 

P  2 


212  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  One  there  was  whom  they  called  Basil,  that  would  take  upon 
him  to  reprove  the  old  Emperor  for  all  his  cruelty  and  oppression  done 
towards  the  people.  His  body  they  have  translated  into  a  sumptuous 
church  near  the  Emperor's  house  in  Moscow,  and  have  canonised  him 
for  a  saint.' 

Many  cures  are  declared  by  the  Russian  Church  to  have 
been  performed  at  the  grave  of  Basil.  It  was  to  this  grave, 
however,  that,  refusing  to  listen  to  the  doctors,  the  Tsar 
Boris  Godunof  carried  his  dying  son  in  the  bitter  winter  of 
1588,  and  the  child  died.1 

In  front  of  S.  Basil  is  the  Lobnoe  Mihto?  a  circular  stone 
tribune,  whence  the  ancient  Tsars  proclaimed  their  edicts. 
Here,  during  his  temporary  reformation,  in  1547,  Ivan  the 
Terrible  bewailed  his  misrule  and  promised  amendment, 
and  from  hence  the  patriarch  Nikon  gave  his  blessing  to 
Alexis.  It  was  here  that,  at  Easter,  after  the  reading  of  the 
Gospel,  the  patriarch  used  to  mount  the  ass,  which  the  Tsar 
himself  led  by  the  bridle  to  the  cathedral  of  the  Rest  of  the 
Virgin. 

This  was  the  famous  *  place  of  executions,'  which  has 
witnessed  so  many  terrible  scenes.  Here,  where  he  had 
made  (1547)  his  touching  public  confession  of  the  sins  of 
his  youth,  after  his  conversion  by  the  hermit  Sylvester,  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Anastasia 
(1565),  began  that  series  of  executions  which  have  rendered 
his  name  so  infamous. 

'  The  first  victim  was  the  celebrated  voievode,  Prince  Alexander 
Gorbati-Schou'iski,  descendant  of  S.  Vladimir,  of  Vsevolod  the  Great, 
and  of  the  ancient  princes  of  Souzdal.  That  profound  thinker  and  able 
soldier,  animated  alike  in  the  cause  of  religion  and  his  country,  who 

1  See  Karamsin,  x. 

2  Public  place,  literally  Place  of  the  Skull,  Golgotha,  from  the  executions. 


EXECUTIONS    UNDER  IVAN  IV.  213 

had  powerfully  contributed  to  the  subjugation  of  the  kingdom  of  Kazan, 
was  condemned  to  death,  with  his  son  Peter,  a  young  man  of  seven- 
teen. They  both  approached  the  place  of  execution  with  calm  dignity, 
without  fear,  and  holding  each  other  by  the  hand.  In  order  not  to 
witness  his  father's  death,  Peter  was  the  first  to  present  his  head  to  the 
sword  ;  but  his  father  made  him  stand  aside,  saying  with  emotion, 
"  No,  my  son  ;  do  not  let  me  see  you  die  !  "  The  young  man  gave  up 
his  place  to  him,  and  the  head  of  the  Prince  was  immediately  severed  from 
his  body  ;  his  son  took  it  in  his  hands,  covered  it  with  kisses,  and  then, 
with  perfect  serenity,  gave  himself  up  to  the  hands  of  the  executioner. 
The  brother-in-law  of  Gorbati,  Prince  Khovrin,  of  Greek  origin,  the 
chief  officer  Golovin,  the  Prince  Soukhoi-Kachin,  the  chief  cupbearer, 
and  Peter  Gorenski,  were  beheaded  the  same  day.  The  Prince  Scheviref 
was  impaled  ;  it  is  said  that  this  unfortunate  man  lived  through  a  whole 
day  of  horrible  suffering,  but  that,  sustained  by  religion,  he  continued  to 
sing  the  praises  of  Jesus,'  &c. 

But  it  was  not  till  five  years  later  (1570)  that  the  cruelties 
of  Ivan  the  Terrible  seemed  to  attain  their  climax. 

'  On  July  25  eighteen  gibbets  were  erected  in  the  great  market- 
place of  the  Khitaigorod  ;  the  instruments  of  torture  were  displayed, 
and  an  immense  bonfire  was  lighted,  above  which  a  huge  cauldron 
filled  with  water  was  suspended.  On  seeing  these  terrific  preparations 
the  people  of  Moscow  were  convinced  that  their  last  hour  was  come, 
and  that  the  Tsar  was  determined  at  once  to  make  an  end  of  his  capital 
and  its  inhabitants.  Beside  themselves  with  terror,  they  fled  and  hid 
themselves  wherever  they  could,  abandoning  in  their  open  shops  both 
their  merchandise  and  their  money.  Soon  the  place  was  deserted,  and 
nothing  was  seen  but  a  troop  of  Opritchniks  l  ranged  round  the  gibbets 
and  the  burning  pile,  in  profound  silence.  Suddenly  the  air  resounded 
with  the  roll  of  drums  ;  the  Tsar  appeared  on  horseback  with  his  eldest 
son,  the  object  of  his  affection.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  boyars, 
the  princes,  and  by  his  guard,  marching  in  order,  followed  by  the  con- 
demned, to  the  number  of  more  than  three  hundred,  like  spectres  in  ap- 
pearance, wounded,  torn,  bleeding,  scarce  able  to  drag  themselves  along. 
Arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  gibbets,  Ivan  looked  around  him  ;  and  being 
astonished  to  see  no  spectators,  he  ordered  his  guard  to  assemble  the 

1  Ivan'sguard  of  1,000: satellites,  gentlemen  and  boyars  of  Moscow.  Literally  trans- 
lated, the  word  appropriately  means  '  familiars,'  as  of  a  fiend. 


214  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

inhabitants  and  bring  them  to  the  square.  Impatient  at  their  delay, 
he  ran  himself  to  summon  them,  calling  the  Moscovites  to  witness  the 
spectacle  he  had  prepared  for  them,  and  promising  them  pardon  and 
safety.  The  citizens  did  not  dare  to  disobey  ;  they  came  out  of  the 
cellars,  of  the  hiding-places  where  they  were  concealed,  and,  trembling 
with  fright,  hastened  to  the  place  of  execution,  which  they  filled  in  a  few 
moments;  even  the  walls  and  roofs  were  covered  with  spectators.  Then, 
with  a  loud  voice,  the  Tsar  said  to  them  :  "  People  of  Moscow,  you  are 
going  to  witness  tortures  and  executions  ;  but  I  am  punishing  traitors. 
Answer  me  !  does  my  judgment  seem  to  you  just  ?  "  At  these  words 
loud  acclamations  were  raised  on  all  sides  :  "  Long  live  the  Tsar,  our 
lord  and  master,  and  may  his  enemies  perish  ! "  Ivan  then  ordered 
eighty  persons  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  crowd,  to  whom,  as  the  least 
guilty,  he  granted  their  lives.  The  secretary  of  the  privy  council, 
unfolding  a  roll  of  parchment,  then  published  the  names  of  the  victims. 
After  this  he  made  Viskovaty  advance,  and  read  his  condemnation  aloud. 
.  .  .  The  executioners  threw  themselves  upon  him,  gagged  him,  hung 
him  up  by  his  feet,  and  hacked  him  to  pieces.  Maluta-Skouratof,  de- 
scending from  his  horse,  was  the  first  to  cut  an  ear  from  the  sufferer. 

'  The  second  victim  was  the  treasurer  Founikof,  the  friend  of 
Viskovaty,  also  accused,  upon  very  slight  foundation,  of  treason.  They 
poured  boiling  and  iced  water  alternately  upon  the  body  of  this 
wretched  man,  who  died  in  terrific  agonies.  The  rest  had  their 
throats  cut,  were  hung,  or  hewn  to  bi'ts.  The  Tsar  himself,  on  horse- 
back, with  a  tranquil  air,  ran  an  old  man  through  with  his  lance  :  in 
the  space  of  four  hours  more  than  two  hundred  men  were  put  to  death  ! 
Finally,  their  horrible  duties  accomplished,  the  murderers,  bathed  in 
blood,  brandishing  their  smoking  swords,  gathered  in  front  of  the 
Tsar,  with  the  cry  of  joy  :  "  Hoi'da  !  hoi'da  ! "  '  lauding  his  justice. 
Ivan,  going  through  the  square,  examined  the  heap  of  corpses  ;  but, 
though  surfeited  of  murders,  he  was  not  yet  surfeited  of  the  despair  of 
his  subjects.  He  desired  to  see  the  unhappy  wives  of  Founikof  and  of 
Viskovaty  ;  he  went  to  their  houses,  laughed  at  their  tears,  and  put  the 
first  to  the  torture,  demanding  her  treasures.  He  wanted  also  to  put  her 
daughter,  aged  fifteen,  to  the  torture,  but  upon  her  cries  of  despair, 
he  changed  his  mind,  and  gave  her  to  his  son,  the  Tsarevitch  Ivan. 
She  was  eventually  shut  up  with  her  mother  and  the  wife  of  Viskovaty 
in  a  convent,  where  -they  all  three  died  of  grief. 

'  The  inhabitants  of  Moscow  who  witnessed  this  terrible  day  did 
not  see  either  Prince  Viazemski  or  Alexis  Basmanof  amongst  the 

1  A  cry  of  the  Tartars,  by  which  they  excite  their  horses. 


EXECUTIONS   UNDER  PETER  I.  215 

victims.  The  first  had  died  under  the  torture  ;  and  as  to  the  end  of 
the  second,  in  spite  of  the  atrocities  we  have  described,  it  may  seem 
incredible,  but  contemporaries  state  that  Ivan  forced  young  Feodor 
Basmanof  to  kill  his  father.  (He  had  also  caused,  at  this  time  of 
before,  the  Prince  Basil  Prayravsky  to  be  assassinated  by  his  brother 
Nicetas  !)  However,  this  unnatural  son  did  not  save  his  life  by  a  parri- 
cide ;  he  was  executed  with  the  rest.  Their  goods  were  confiscated 
to  the  treasury. 

'  The  tyrant  rested  for  three  days,  for  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
'to  bury  the  corpses,  but,  on  the  fourth,  he  brought  out  upon  the  square 
new  victims  whom  he  put  to  death.  Maluta-Skouratof,  chief  of  the 
executioners,  hewed  the  bodies  of  those  who  were  executed  in  pieces 
with  an  axe,  and  the  bleeding  fragments,  deprived  of  burial,  remained 
for  eight  days  exposed  to  the  greediness  of  the  dogs,  who  fought  over 
them.  The  wives  of  the  gentlemen  executed,  to  the  number  of  eighty, 
were  drowned  in  the  river.' — Karamsin^  ix. 


The  Krasnoe  Ploshtshad  witnessed  another  terrible  series 
of  executions  in  the  early  years  of  Peter  the  Great,  after  the 
rebellion  of  the  Streltsi  had  been  excited  by  the  Tsarevna 
Sophia,  who  had  been  already  some  years  in  the  Novo- 
Devichi  Monastery. 

'  Les  longues  barbes  avaient  ete  1'insigne  de  la  revolte  ;  elles  torn- 
baient  partout.  Pierre  ordonna  a  tous  les  gentilshommes  d'avoir  a  se 
raser,  et  lui-meme  rasa  de  sa  propre  main  les  grands  seigneurs.  Le  meme 
jour,  la  Place  Rouge  se  couvrit  de  potences ;  le  patriarche  Adrien  essaya 
vainement  de  conjurer  la  colere  du  tsar  en  se  presentant  devant  lui  avec 
1'image  miraculeuse  de  la  mere  de  Dieu.  "  Pourquoi  as-tu  deplace  cette 
sainte  icone?"  lui  cria  le  tsar.  "  Retire-toi  et  la  reporte  a  sa  place. 
Sache  que  je  n'ai  pas  moins  de  veneration  que  toi-meme  pour  Dieu  et 
sa  mere,  mais  sache  aussi  que  mon  devoir  est  de  proteger  le  peuple  et 
de  punir  les  rebelles."  Le  30  septembre  (ancien  style)  on  vit  arriver 
a  la  Place  Rouge  un  premier  convoi  de  deux-cent-un  prisonniers,  traines 
dans  des  charrettes,  des  cierges  allumes  dans  les  mains,  presque  tous 
deja  brises  par  la  torture,  suivis  de  leurs  femmes  et  de  leurs  enfants,  qui 
couraient  derriere  les  voitures  en  leur  chantant  les  complaintes  des 
funerailles.  Ils  furent  pendus  apres  la  lecture  de  leur  sentence  ;  le 
tsar  ordonna  a  plusieurs  officiers  d'aider  le  bourreau.  Jean-Georges 


216  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Korb,  agent  autrichien,  qui  nous  a  laisse,  comme  temoin  oculaire,' 
un  recit  authentique  des  executions,  entendit  raconter  que  "cinq  tetes 
de  rebelles  venaient  deja  d'etre  abattues  a  coups  de  hache  par  la  plus 
noble  main  de  la  Russie."  Le  terrible  charpentier  de  Saardam  tra- 
vailla  et  obligea  ses  bo'iars  a  travailler  a  cette  horrible  besogne.  Sept 
autres  journees  furent  consacrees  aux  supplices  ;  un  millier  de  victimes 
perirent.  Quelques-unes  furent  devouees  a  la  roue  et  a  d'autres  sup- 
plices raffines.  On  defend  it  d'enlever  les  corps  des  executes,  et  pendant 
cinq  mois  Moscou  cut  le  spectacle  de  cadavres  pendus  a  tous  les 
creneaux  du  Kremlin  et  les  autres  remparts  de  la  ville,  ou  exposes  sur  les 
places  ;  pendant  cinq  mois  d'hiver,  des  Streltsi  accroches  aux  barreaux  de. 
la  prison  de  Sophie  lui  presentment  la  supplique  par  laquelle  ils  1'avaient 
exhortee  a  regner.  Deux  de  ses  confidentes  avaient  ete  enterrees  vives  ; 
elle-meme,  ainsi  que  la  femme  de  Pierre,  Eudoxie  Lapoukhine,  1'epouse 
repudiee  pour  son  attachement  obstine  aux  anciennes  coutumes,  eurent 
la  tete  rasee  et  furent  enfermees  dans  des  monasteres.'  —  Rambaud, 
1  Hist,  de  la 


It  is  said  that  the  relations  of  the  victims  of  Peter  '  the 
Great,'  after  the  rebellion  of  the  Streltsi,  only  obtained  per- 
mission to  remove  their  heads  from  the  battlements,  where 
they  were  exhibited,  when  the  spaces  were  required  for  the 
heads  of  the  unfortunate  adherents  of  the  Tsarevitch  Alexis. 

Opposite  S.  Basil  rises  the  magnificent  Spaskoi  Vorota, 
the  Gate  of  the  Redeemer,  built  by  the  Milanese  architect, 
Pietro  Solario.  in  1491.  It  is  painted  red  with  green  spires. 
Till  recently  it  was  entered  by  a  long  narrow  bridge  over 
a  fosse,  which  is  now  filled  up.1  Here  is  the  famous 
picture  of  '  the  Redeemer  of  Smolensk  ;  '  the  Palladium  of 
the  Russian  Empire.  It  is  calculated  that  10,880  persons 
visit  it  every  twelve  hours.  The  picture  has  been  famous 
for  the  efficiency  with  which  it  has  always  defended  itself 
against  foreign  invaders.  The  Tartars  thought  its  frame 
was  of  gold  and  wanted  to  remove  it,  but  every  ladder  they 

1  See  Heber's  Journal. 


THE  HOLY  GATE. 


217 


raised  for  the  purpose  broke  in  the  middle.  The  French 
brought  a  cannon  to  batter  it  down,  but  an  angel  always 
wetted  their  powder ;  and  when,  driven  to  desperation,  they 
made  a  fire  of  coals  over  the  touch-hole,  it  exploded  the 


THE   GATE   OF    THE   REDEEMER   (INTERIOR). 


wrong  way.  The  picture  has  imparted  its  sanctity  to  the 
Porta  Sacra  beneath.  Woe  be  to  any  man  who  attempts  to 
go  through  it  without  baring  his  head  !  He  is  speedily 
reminded  of  his  negligence  by  the  loud  cries  of  '  Shlapa, 
shlapa,  batiushka,  '  The  hat,  the  hat,  little  father.'  Formerly 


218  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

fifty  compulsory  prostrations  were  extorted  from  everyone 
who  passed  the  gate  without  uncovering.1 

'  I  wished  to  see  if  the  absurd  rule  was  rigorously  enforced,  and, 
feigning  ignorance,  entered  beneath  the  arch  with  my  hat  on.  A 
sentinel  challenged  me  ;  but,  without  taking  notice  of  him,  I  walked 
forward.  Next  a  bare-headed  peasant  met  me,  and,  seeing  my  head 
covered,  summoned  the  sentinels  and  people  with -very  loud  expressions 
of  anger  ;  who,  seizing  me  by  the  arms,  very  soon  taught  me  in  what 
manner  to  pass  the  Holy  Gate  for  the  future.' — Clarke's  '  Travels.' 

The  uncovering  at  the  gate  dates  from  1613,  the  time 
of  the  deliverance  of  Russia  from  the  Poles,  for  the  picture 
of  the  Redeemer  is  that  which  was  carried  before  the 
victorious  army  of  Prince  Pojarskoi,  when  he  went  forth 
against  the  invaders  at  the  bidding  of  the  monk  Dionysius 
of  the  Troitsa.  Pojarskoi  made  his  triumphant  entry  after- 
wards by  this  gate.  Once  every  Russian  city  had  its  Porta 
Santa. 

The  girdle  of  strange  towers  which  encircles  the  Kremlin 
dates  from  the  time  of  Ivan  III.  (the  Great)  when  they  were 
begun  by  the  Italian  Antonio  Aleviso  (1485),  the  fortifica- 
tions which  had  been  constructed  under  Dmitri  Donskoi 
having  fallen  into  ruin  to  such  a  degree  that  the  town  was 
at  that  time  almost  without  fortifications. 

'  Persuadez-vous  bien  que  la  citadelle  de  Moscou  n'est  nullement  ce 
qu'on  dit  qu'elle  est.  Ce  n'est  pas  un  palais,  ce  n'est  pas  un  sanctuaire 
national  oil  se  conservent  les  tresors  historiques  de  1'empire  ;  ce  n'est  pas 
le  boulevard  de  la  Russie,  Pasile  revere  oil  dorment  les  saints  pro- 
tecteurs  de  la  patrie  :  c'est  moins  et  c'est  plus  que  tout  cela ;  c'est  tout 
simplement  la  prison  des  spectres. 

'  Heritage  des  temps  fabuleux,  oil  le  mensonge  etait  roi  sans  con- 

1  It  is  thought  by  some  that  the  uncovering  and  crossing  at  the  Holy  Gate  w 
suggested  by  some  such  text  as  '  Thou  shall  call  thy  walls  salvation,  and  thy  gat 
praise  '  (Isaiah  Ix.  18). 


TERRACE   OF   THE  KREMLIN.  219 

trole :  geole,  palais,  sanctuaire,  boulevard  centre  1'etranger,  bastille 
centre  la  nation,  appui  des  tyrans,  cachot  des  peuples :  voila  le 
Kremlin  ! 

'  Espece  d'Acropolis  du  Nord,  de  Pantheon  barbare,  ce  sanctuaire 
national  pourrait  s'appeler  1' Alcazar  des  Slaves.' — M.  de  Custine. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  vast  open  space  in  the  interior 
of  the  Kremlin.  Ill-kept,  weed-grown,  dust-laden,  it  teems 
with  glorious  historic  memories.  It  was  here  that  Dmitri 
Donskoi  hoisted  his  black  flag  against  Mamai  the  Tartar, 
after  his  ride  with  his  prophetic  relation  Dmitri  cf  Volhynia, 
who,  descending  from  his  horse  and  lying  upon  the  earth, 
had  told  him  how  from  the  depths  of  the  earth  came  voices 
promising  victory,  but  with  great  weeping  and  wailing  over 
the  slaughter  which  would  take  place.  Here  also  Ivan  the 
Great  trod  under  foot  the  image  of  the  Khan,  to  which  the 
Tsars  had  previously  done  homage. 

The  view  from  the  terrace  of  the  Kremlin  has  a  reminis- 
cence— faint,  washed  out,  and  colourless,  but  still  a  palpable 
reminiscence — of  the  view  of  Rome  from  the  Pincio.  The 
materials  are  the  same  ;  the  low  distant  Sparrow  Hills  take 
the  place  of  the  Janiculan,  the  new  cathedral  with  its  great 
dome  represents  S.  Peter's,  the  Moskva  answers  to  the 
Tiber,  and  the  plain  is  filled  with  the  same  brown  roofs  and 
houses,  broken  ever  and  an6n  by  the  domes  of  the  churches, 
here,  however,  sparkling  from  their  metal  casing,  as  if  they 
were  in  polished  armour. 

'The  new  Rome  which  is  Moscow.' — '•Travels  of  Mac  an  us  J  i. 
355- 

'  Voila  Rome  tatare  ! '  was  the  exclamation  of  Madame 
de  Stae'l,  as  she  looked  upon  this  view,  with  its  marvellous 
conglomeration  of  domes  and  spires— like  melons,  pumpkins, 


220 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


pineapples,  pears,  strawberries  ;  ornamented  with  spirals, 
circles,  zigzags,  and  spots ;  hung  with  veils  of  chains, 
crescents,  discs,  and  stars.  Pious  individuals  frequently 
bequeath  legacies  towards  the  perpetual  regilding  or  re- 
painting of  a  .particular  dome  in  Moscow. 

Strangers  will  be  struck,  all  over  Russia,  but  especially 
here,  by  the  way  in  which  the  crosses  on  the  churches  are 


VIEW    FROM   THE   KREMLIN. 


represented  as  rising  from  crescents.  The  Tartars,  who  were 
masters  of  Russia  for  two  hundred  years,  had  changed  the 
churches  into  mosques  and  fixed  the  crescent  upon  them. 
When  the  Grand-Duke  Ivan  Vassilivitch  drove  out  the 
Tartars,  and  restored  the  churches,  he  left  the  crescents, 
but  planted  the  cross  upon  them  in  sign  of  victory,  and 
Russia  has  since  continued  the  practice. 


THE  KREMLIN  OF  MOSCOW.  221 

The  second  cross-bar  which  is  almost  universally  seen 
placed  crooked  on  the  lower  part  of  the  cross  is  because  the 
Russians  believe  our  Saviour  to  have  been  deformed — to 
have  had  one  leg  shorter  than  the  other.  He  wished  to 
drink  to  the  utmost  the  degradation  of  humanity.  *  He 
hath  no  form  or  comeliness.  .  .  .  We  did  esteem  him  stricken, 
smitten  of  God  and  afflicted.  ...  It  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  him  :  he  hath  put  him  to  grief.' 

Paying  due  respect  to  the  icons,  strangers  may  wander 
about  these  sacred  courts  at  their  will,  but  endless  difficulties 
attend  them  if  they  want  to  draw.  Populace  and  officials 
are  alike  suspicious  of  such  a  strange  proceeding,  and  even 
when  armed  with  orders  of  permission  from  the  Governor  of 
Moscow  and  the  head  of  the  police,  the  artist  is  sure  to  be 
arrested  and  carried  off  twice  a  day  to  the  police-station. 
None  of  the  police  can  read,  and  every  fresh  man  on  the 
beat  thinks  it  necessary  to  take  him  up.  When  his  order 
has  been  examined,  he  is  treated  civilly,  and  released  ;  but 
the  waste  of  time  and  chronic  trial  of  temper  are  most 
wearisome. 

The  name  Kremlin  comes  from  a  Tartar  word  meaning 
fortress.  Every  Russian  city  formerly  had  a  Kremlin, 
which  answered  to  an  Alcazar  in  Spain,  but  here  it  had  a 
greater  significance.  What  the  Acropolis  is  to  Athens,  and 
the  Capitol  to  Rome,  that  the  Kremlin  is  to  Moscow.  It 
is  a  city  in  itself,  and  not  only  the  centre,  but  the  source  of 
the  capital.  Yet,  like  everything  else  in  Moscow,  it  is  here 
a  strange  jumble  of  magnificence  and  ruin.  The  vast  sandy 
space  of  the  interior,  covered  with  rough  grass  and  weeds, 
and  girded  on  one  side  by  the  terrace  with  the  view,  is 
'  fringed  on  the  other  by  a  succession  of  buildings  eminently 


222  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

historic,  yet  so  covered  with  paint,  stucco,  or  whitewash,  as 
to  possess  little  that  is  striking  externally  except  their  golden 
domes.  Grouped  around  the  great  Tower  of  Ivan  Veliki 
are  the  three  old  cathedrals,  that  of  the  Rest  of  the  Virgin, 
called  by  Englishmen  the  Assumption,  in  which  the  Tsars 
were  crowned  ;  that  of  the  Annunciation,  in  which  they  were 
baptised  and  married  ;  and  that  of  the  S.  Michael,  in  which 
they  lie  buried.  Then,  behind  the  cathedrals,  rises  the  vast 
red  mass  of  the  palace. 

*  II  y  a  de  tout  au  Kremlin  :  c'est  un  paysage  de  pierres.'—  M.  de 
Ciistine. 

At  the  foot  of  the  great  tower  stands  Tsar  Kolokol,  the 
Emperor  of  Bells,  a  second  recast  of  1733  from  the  material 
of  a  bell  dating  from  the  reign  of  Boris  Godunof.  He 
thought  he  could  atone  for  the  crimes  through  which  he 
waded  to  the  Russian  throne,  by  giving  Moscow  a  bell 
288,000  Ibs.  in  weight.  But,  as  it  seemed  to  be  the  fashion 
to  measure  the  piety  of  sovereigns  by  the  weight  of  bells, 
the  Empress  Anne  had  the  bell  of  Godunof  recast,  and  added 
nearly  2,000  Ibs.  to  it.  Peasants  now  visit  the  bell  on  festa 
days  as  they  would  a  church,  as  an  act  of  devotion.  The 
story  of  the  bell  having  been  broken  by  a  fall  is  only  a 
fable  repeated  from  one  writer  to  another.  It  remains 
where  it  was  cast,  and  was  never  hung.  A  fire  in  the 
Kremlin  in  1737  caught  the  temporary  shed  from  which  it 
had  not  yet  been  moved,  and  the  water  thrown  upon  the 
burning  building  caused  the  fracture  of  the  heated  metal. 

The  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption  or  '  Rest  of  the  Virgin  ' 
— Uspenski  Sobor  l — was  built  1473-79,  and  has  been  little 

1  The  word  in  the  Russian  signifies  'rest, 'or  'falling  asleep,'  and  is  a  literal 
translation  of  the  word  always  used  in  the  Greek, 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ASSUMPTION.        223 

altered  since.  Its  architect  Aristotele  Fioraventi,  of  Bologna, 
had  already  become  known  through  his  services  to  Cosimo 
de'  Medici,  Francis  I.,  Gian  Galeazzo  of  Milan,  and  Pope 
Sixtus  IV.  Tolbusine,  ambassador  of  Ivan  the  Great, 
meeting  him  at  Venice,  had  engaged  him  for  the  service  of 
the  Tsar.1  The  church  has  no  sign  whatever  of  Italian 
architecture,  though  built  by  an  Italian  architect,  for  he 
went  to  Vladimir  to  study  the  ancient  Cathedral  of  the 
Coronations  in  that  city,  and  strove  to  reproduce  it  as  much 
as  possible  in  Moscow. 

The  interior  blazes  with  gold  and  colour,  and  is  filled 
with  historic  monuments-  of  indescribable  interest.  It  is 
scarcely  larger  than  a  chapel  in  an  English  cathedral,  yet  so 
intensely  full  is  it  that  its  size  is  quite  forgotten  in  the  im- 
portance of  its  contents.  In  the  nave  of  this  Russian 
Rheims,  all  the  Tsars  from  Ivan  the  Terrible  to  the  present 
day  have  been  crowned. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  gorgeous  regildings 
for  the  coronation  of  Alexander  III.  have  done  much  to 
mar  the  effect  and  destroy  the  antiquated  appearance  of 
the  interior.  Nevertheless,  in  this  cathedral,  may  still  be 
seen  the  nearest  likeness  of  that  worship  which  the  envoys 
of  Vladimir  saw  at  Constantinople,  and  which  made-  them 
feel  that  'there  in  truth  God  had  his  dwelling  with  men.'2 
Here  also,  for  more  than  four  centuries,  the  ancient  Byzantine 
rites  have  been  followed  in  all  their  splendour,  except 
during  the  interval  of  the  Polish  invasion  (1605),  when 
Latin  services  were,  for  a  short  time,  chanted  here,  and 

1  Archbishop  Plato  says  that  Aristotle  of  Bologna  understood  how  to  cast  bells 
and  cannon  and  to  coin  money,  as  well  as  the  work  of  an  architect,  but  yet  received 
only  ten  roubles  (about  7 1.)  a  month  as  salary. 

"  Mouravieff. 


224  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  abhorred   music  of  the   organ   sounded   through   the 
arcades. 

'  On  a  peine  a  croire  que  1'Assomption  soit  de  la  meme  epoque  et  des 
memes  artistes  que  les  lumineuses  eglises  de  la  Renaissance.  L'archi- 
tecte  ou  ceux  qui  1'ont  inspire  out  cherche  a  reproduire  ici  la  myste- 
rieuse  obscurite  des  vieux  temples  d'Egypte  et  d'Orient.  Cette  cathedrale 
n'a  pas  de  fenetres,  mais  plutot  des  meurtrieres,  d'etroites  fentes  grillees 
qui  ne  laissent  tomber  dans  1'interieur  qu'un  jour  douteux,  comme  celui 
qui  filtre  par  le  soupirail  d'un  cachot.  Cette  pale  lumiere  vient  effleurer 
alors  les  massifs  piliers  couverts  d'un  or  bruni,  sur  le  sombre  eclat  du- 
quel  se  detachent,  severes  et  graves,  des  figures  de  saints  etdedocteurs  ; 
elle  accroche  ca  et  la  les  saillies  de  Viconostase  d'or,  couverte  d'images 
tniraculeuses,  parsemee  de  diamants  et  de  pierreries.  Toute  la  partie 
superieure  du  temple  est  en  quelque  sorte  enveloppee  d'ombres  comme 
les  hypogees  pharaoniques  ;  on  ne  distingue  que  vaguement  les  pein- 
tures  qui  decorent  la  voute  ;  1'artiste  evidemment  les  a  faites  pour  Pceil 
de  Dieu,  non  pour  celui  de  Phomme  ;  car  1'oeil  de  1'homme  ne  peut 
guere  les  contempler  que  dans  les  rares  occasions,  comme  au  jour  de 
1'Assomption  oule  jour  de  couronnement,  lorsque  1'eglise  s'illumine  tout 
entiere  et  se  laisse  penetrer  jusque  dans  ses  derniers  recoins  par  la 
lumiere  des  cierges  innombrables. '—  Rambatcd,  '  Hist,  de  la  Russie." 

Like  all  Russian  churches,  the  cathedral  has  three  parts  : 
the  first  called  by  the  Greeks  -rrpoVaos  and  by  the  Russians 
trapeza  ;  secondly,  the  body  ;  thirdly,  the  shrine.  All 
the  walls  are  covered  with  frescoes,  possessing  nothing 
of  beauty  in  detail,  yet  infinitely  beautiful  in  their  general 
effect.  Smaller  figures  are  seen  in  the  spaces  below,  huge 
faces  with  staring  eyes  above.  These  pictures  are  the 
favourite  religious  instructors  of  the  people,  who  may  con- 
stantly be  seen  explaining  them  to  each  other.  The  earlier 
paintings  date  from  the  reign  of  Simeon  the  Proud,  when 
they  were  executed  by  Greek  artists  for  the  Metropolitan 
Theognostos.  The  whole  of  the  western  wall  is  occupied 
by  a  vast  fresco  of  the  Last  Judgment,  in  which  Paradise, 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ASSUMPTION.        225 

divided  into  many  compartments,  keeps  before  the  minds 
of  those  who  look  upon  it  a  tenet  which  has  dropped  out 
of  the  existing  religion — '  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions/  This  picture  is  also  of  historic  value  as  com- 
memorating the  representation  which  led  to  the  first  step 
in  the  conversion  of  Vladimir,  the  first  Christian  Russian 
prince. 

'  A  certain  Greek  philosopher,  a  monk  named  Constantine,  after 
having  exposed  the  insufficiency  of  other  religions,  eloquently  set  before 
the  Prince  those  judgments  of  God  which  are  in  all  the  world,  the  re- 
demption of  the  human  race  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  retribution 
of  the  life  to  come.  His  discourse  powerfully  affected  the  heathen 
monarch,  who  was  burdened  with  the  heavy  sins  of  a  tumultuous  youth  ; 
and  this  was  especially  the  case  when  the  monk  pointed  out  to  him,  on 
an  icon  which  represented  the  Last  Judgment,  the  different  fate  of 
the  righteous  and  wicked.  "  Good  to  those  on  the  right  hand,  but  woe 
to  those  on  the  left,"  exclaimed  Vladimir,  greatly  moved,  though  his 
sensual  nature  still  struggled  against  the  heavenly  truth.' — Mouravieff. 

The  five  domes,  here  said  to  typify  the  Metropolitan 
and  his  deacons,  are  supported  by  huge  pillars  covered  with 
figures  of  the  Russian  saints  in  venerable  fresco,  executed 
by  Giovanni  Spissatelli  for  Vassili  Ivanovitch  in  1514. 

'  Here  the  veneration  for  pictorial  representations  has  reached  a 
pitch  which  gives  an  aspect  to  the  whole  building  as  unlike  any 
European  church  ,as  the  widest  differences  of  European  churches  can 
separate  each  from  each.  From  top  to  bottom,  from  side  to  side,  walls 
and  roof  and  screen  and  columns  are  a  mass  of  gilded  pictures ;  not 
one  of  any  artistic  value  ;  not  one  put  in  for  the  sake  of  show  or  effect, 
but  all  cast  in  the  same  ancient  mould,  or  overcast  in  the  same  vene- 
rable hue  ;  and  each  one,  from  the  smallest  figure  in  the  smallest 
compartment,  to  the  gigantic  faces  which  look  down  with  their  large 
open  eyes  from  the  arched  vaults  above,  performing  its  own  part,  and 
bearing  a  relation  to  the  whole.  Only  one  other  style  of  sacred  archi- 
tecture is  recalled  by  this  strange  sight.  It  is  as  if  four  columns  (for 
there  are  but  four  in  an  Orthodox  Eastern  church)  had  been  transplanted 

Q 


226  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

from  the  mighty  forest  of  pillars  in  the  great  temple  of  Egyptian 
Thebes.  High  and  massive  as  those  pillars  do  these  four  columns  rise 
up,  and  round  and  round  they  are  painted,  with  ever-recurring  pairs, 
as  those  of  Egyptian  gods,  so  here  of  Christian  saints.  And  as  the 
walls  there  are  clothed  from  head  to  foot  with  battle-pieces  or  sacred 
processions,  so  here  with  apostles,  prophets,  patriarchs,  parables, 
history,  legends,  &c.  The  seven  Councils  of  the  Church  follow  in  exact 
and  uniform  order,  closing  on  the  western  wall  with  the  representation 
of  the  Last  Judgment.  In  one  sense,  the  resemblance  to  Egypt  is 
purely  accidental ;  but  in  another  sense  it  is  almost  inevitable.  Egypt 
and  Russia  are  the  only  two  great  nations  in  which  pictures  or 
pictorial  emblems  have  entered  so  deeply  into  the  national  life  and 
religious  instruction  of  the  people.  Hieroglyphics  and  pictures  con- 
stituted more  than  half  the  learning  of  those  grown-up  children  of 
the  ancient  world  ;  they  still  constitute  more  than  half  the  education 
of  these  grown-up  children  of  the  modern  world.  And  when  we 
remember  that  some  of  these  pictures  have,  besides  their  interest  as 
the  emblems  of  truth  to  a  barbarian  and  childlike  people,  acquired  the 
historical  association  involved  in  the  part  they  have  taken  in  the  great 
national  events,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  combinations  of  religious 
and  patriotic  feelings  in  Russia  should  have  raised  their  veneration  to  a 
pitch  to  us  almost  inconceivable.' — Stanley ;  '  The  Eastern  Church.'' 

Many  bodies  of  the  saints  lie  around,  those  of  greatest 
importance  occupying  the  corners  of  the  edifice,  here,  as  in 
all  Oriental  buildings,  the  place  of  honour.  High  in  the 
central  of  the  five  domes  is  the  little  chapel  of  the  Praise 
of  the  Mother  of  God,  where  the  Russian  patriarchs  were 
elected  '  near  the  grace-communicating  tombs  of  the  great 
wonder-workers,'  as  was  stated  in  their  proclamation. 

On  the  left  of  the  iconastos,  in  a  narrow  chapel,  is  the 
tomb  of  S.  Peter,  the  first  Metropolitan,  and  the  founder 
of  the  church  ;  and  hard  by  hangs  a  picture  of  the  Repose 
of  the  Virgin,  which  he  is  said  to  have  painted. 

'  The  Metropolitan  S.  Peter  foresaw  the  future  glory  of  Moscow 
while  it  was  as  yet  poor,  and  persuaded  Ivan  to  lay  in  it  the  foundation 
of  the  stone  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption.  "  If  thou  wilt  comfort  my 


CATHEDRAL   OF   THE  ASSUMPTION.        227 

old  age,"  said  he,  "if  thou  wilt  build  here  a  temple  worthy  of  the 
Mother  of  God,  then  thou  shalt  be  more  glorious  than  all  the  other 
princes,  and  thy  posterity  shall  become  great.  My  bones  shall  remain 
in  this  city,  prelates  shall  rejoice  to  dwell  in  it,  and  the  hands  of  its 
princes  shall  be  upon  the  necks  of  our  enemies  ! " 

'  Thus,  in  the  words  of  the  ancient  patriarch  Jacob,  the  man  of  many 
labours,  who  in  the  hour  of  death  foretold  the  lion  strength  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  S.  Peter,  also  a  man  of  many  labours,  when  about  to  depart 
in  peace  from  his  pilgrimage,  spoke  in  the  spirit  of  prescience  to  Ivan  ; 
and  his  word  of  commandment  was  obeyed,  his  prophecy  was  fulfilled. 
In  that  same  temple,  in  the  wall  of  which  he  prepared  for  himself 
beforehand  a  tomb,  in  the  view  of  his  uncorrupted  remains,  and  as  it 
were  before  the  face  and  presence  of  the  prelate  himself,  are  crowned 
the  successors  of  Ivan,  now  no  longer  princes  of  Moscow  only,  or 
Vladimir,  but  rulers  over  the  ninth  part  of  the  globe,  which  scarcely 
finds  room  upon  its  surface  for  one  such  empire  as  Russia.' — Monra- 
vieff. 

Close  by,  nearer  the  altar  of  the  same  chapel,  is  the 
tomb  of  S.  Theognostos,  who  succeeded  S.  Peter  as  Metro- 
politan in  1326,  and  died  of  the  black  plague  in  1353.  In 
the  corner  of  the  cathedral  opposite  this  chapel  is  the 
tomb  of  S.  Jonah,  who  succeeded  to  the  Metropolitan 
throne  at  the  time  when  Dmitri  Shemiaka  had  seized  the 
temporal  throne,  having  put  out  the  eyes  of  Basil,  its  lawful 
possessor.  Afterwards  when  that  prince  wished  to  abandon 
the  capital,  besieged  by  the  Tartars,  Jonah  swore  to  save 
the  Kremlin,  or  that  he  would  be  buried  beneath  its  ruins 
with  the  people.1  On  account  of  the  fall  of  the  Greek 
empire,  he  was  the  first  Metropolitan  appointed  by  a 
council  of  Russian  bishops,  and  he  was  also  the  last  bishop 
of  Moscow  who  bore  the  title  of  Metropolitan  of  Kieff.2 

'  He  continued  for  seven  years  to  show  forth  an  example  of  all  the 
virtues  of  a  good  pastor  on  the  episcopal  throne  ;  he  consoled  the 
capital  under  its  sufferings  from  conflagrations  and  from  a  dreadful 

1  Karamsin,  v.  2  See  Mouravieff. 

Q  2 


228  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

invasion  of  the  Tartars,  who  all  but  got  possession  of  the  Kremlin  ;  and 
ever  during  his  life  he  was  glorified  from  above  by  the  gifts  of  prophecy 
and  healing  ;  having,  like  S.  Peter,  foretold  the  deliverance  of  Russia 
from  the  yoke  of  the  infidels,  and  its  future  glory.'  —  Mouravieff. 

It  is  said  that  when  Napoleon  was  in  Moscow,  he  opened 
the  coffin  of  Jonah  to  see  if  he  was  '  uncorrupt,'  but  the 
saint  shook  his  finger,  and  the  emperor  started  back  in 
terror. 

In  the  corresponding  corner  of  the  western  wall  is  the 
tomb  of  Cyprian,  Metropolitan  at  the  time  of  the  invasion 
of  Tamerlane  (1395). 

'  Cyprian  died  at  a  great  age.  Some  days  before  his  death,  in 
1406,  he  addressed  to  Vassili  (the  Grand  Prince),  to  all  the  Russian 
princes,  to  the  boyars,  clergy,  and  laymen,  a  letter,  in  which  he  gave 
them  his  blessing,  and  asked  them,  as  a  Christian,  for  forgiveness  of  all 
his  offences.  When  the  letter  was  read  to  the  people  in  the  Church 
of  the  Assumption  by  Gregory,  Archbishop  of  Rostof,  sighs  and  sobs 
resounded  on  all  sides  ;  and  from  this  time,  when  their  death  is  at 
hand,  all  Metropolitans  of  Moscow  have  composed  similar  letters  of 
farewell,  desiring  that  they  may  be  read  after  their  burial. ' — Karanisin. 

By  the  side  of  Cyprian  lies  his  successor  Photius,  in 
whose  time  Vladimir  was  destroyed  by  the  Tartars.  Close 
by,  a  most  picturesque  shrine  covers  a  relic  supposed  to 
be  the  seamless  coat  of  our  Saviour,~"which  is  claimed  by 
Moscow  as  well  as  by  Treves. 

'  Philaret  received  from  the  Shah  Abbas  of  Persia,  then  famous  in 
the  East,  the  Seamless  Coat  of  our  Saviour,  which,  according  to  an 
ancient  tradition,  was  brought  into  Georgia  by  one  of  the  soldiers  who 
parted  his  garments  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and  was  preserved  for 
many  ages  in  the  cathedral  of  Mtschet.  Abbas  could  not  have  selected 
a  better  guardian  for  such  a  holy  relic  ;  and  the  Tunic  of  our  Lord, 
which  was  distinguished  by  the  working  of  numerous  cures  in  the 


CATHEDRAL   OF   THE  ASSUMPTION.        229 

Russian  Capital,  was  placed  by  the  patriarch  in  the  cathedral  of  the 
Rest  of  the  Virgin,  under  the  shade  of  a  brazen  tabernacle,  near  which 
he  himself  is  laid  down  to  his  everlasting  rest. ' — Monravieff. 

Adjoining  this,  on  one  side  is  the  tomb  of  the  Patriarch 
Hermogenes,  who  ruled  in  the  troublous  times  of  the 
Pretenders  and  of  the  Polish  invasion.  On  the  other  side 
(in  front  of  Cyprian  and  Photius)  is  the  tomb  of  his  suc- 
cessor, the  Patriarch  Philaret,  who  was  the  founder  of  the 
House  of  Romanoff,  which  was  so  called  from  his  grand- 
father, Roman.  Philaret's  secular  name  was  Feodor,  and 
he  was  descended  from  Andrew,  a  Prussian  prince,  who 
came  to  Russia  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  He 
was  the  son  of  Nikita  Romanovitch,  and  his  aunt  had  been 
the  .beloved  Tsaritsa  Anastasia,  first  wife  of  Ivan  IV.  (the 
Terrible).  The  jealousy  of  Boris  Godunof  had  forced  him 
to  become  a  priest,  when  he  had  changed  his  name  to 
Philaret.  But,  upon  the  accession  of  Demetrius,  he  was 
released  from  the  monastery  in  which  he  had  been  confined, 
and  made  archbishop  of  Rostof.  When,  upon  the  deposition 
of  Vassili  Shuiski,  it  was  decided  to  elect  Ladislaus,  son 
of  Sigismund  III.  of  Poland,  as  Tsar,  Philaret  was  sent  as 
ambassador  for  the  purpose,  but  finding  the  king  engaged 
in  the  siege  of  Smolensk,  he  rebuked  him  for  dismembering 
a  country  which  was  likely  to  belong  to  his  son.  Sigismund, 
in  his  anger,  imprisoned  him  in  the  castle  of  Marienburg, 
where  he  was  detained  for  nine  years,  but  meantime  the 
veneration  for  him  in  Russia  became  such  as  to  lead  to  the 
elevation  of  his  son  Michael,  aged  only  seventeen,  to  the 
throne.  In  1619,  Philaret  was  released,  and,  on  reaching 
Moscow,  was  consecrated  patriarch.  From  that  time  he 
became  the  real  sovereign  of  the  country,  guiding  his  son, 


250  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

with  whom  he  was  associated  in   everything,  till  his  death 
in  1633. 

The  remaining  corner,  on  the  right  of  the  iconastos,  is 
occupied  by  the  tomb  of  the  Metropolitan  S.  Philip  (1565- 
1568),  the  one  martyr  of  the  Russian  Church. 

*  Alone  of  the  primates  of  Russia,  Philip  came  into  collision  with 
the  power  of  the  Tsar,  and  that  was  expressly  and  distinctly  with  the 
personal  cruelties,  not  with  the  secular  authority,  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 
"  As  the  image  of  the  Divinity,  I  reverence  thee  ;  as  a  man,  thou  art 
but  dust  and  ashes."  It  is  a  true  glory  to  the  Russian  Church,  and  an 
example  to  the  hierarchy  of  all  Churches,  that  its  one  martyred  prelate 
should  have  suffered,  not  for  any  high  ecclesiastical  pretensions,  but  in 
the  simple  cause  of  justice  and  mercy.  "  Silence,"  he  said,  as  he  re- 
buked the  Tsar,  "  lays  sin  upon  the  soul  and  brings  death  to  the  whole 
people.  ...  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  upon  earth,  as  all  my 
fathers  were,  and  I  am  ready  to  suffer  for  the  truth.  Where  would  my 
faith  be  if  I  kept  silence  ?  .  .  .  Here  we  are  offering  up  the  bloodless 
sacrifice  to  the  Lord,  while  behind  the  altar  flows  the  innocent  blood 
of  Christian  men."  As  he  was  dragged  away  from  the  cathedral,  his 
one  word  was  "  Pray."' — Stanleys  '•Eastern  ChurchS 

'  Ivan  sent  his  worthy  assistant,  Maliouta  Skouratoff,  as  if  for  Philip's 
blessing,  to  the  Otroch  monastery  at  Tver.  But  S.  Philip  quietly  said 
to  him,  "  Execute  thy  mission,"  and  was  strangled  in  his  cell,  suffering 
for  the  truth  like  another  John  the  Baptist. '  The  Church  of  Russia 
has  been  distinguished  by  many  great  prelates,  but  among  them  all 
there  is  only  this  one  martyr,  and  his  glory  is  incorruptible,  even  as 
are  his  holy  relics  themselves.  The  living  words  which  he  spoke  have 
kept,  as  it  were,  life  and  power  even  in  his  dead  body,  and  this  im- 
movable pillar  which  supports  the  Church  crumbles  not  away.  On 
four  such  pillars  the  Church  of  Moscow  and  of  all  Russia  rests  :  Peter, 
Alexis,  Jonah,  Philip.  Who  can  shake  so  firm  a  foundation  ?  The 
relics  of  the  holy  martyr  lie  in  the  cathedral ;  in  vain  the  Solovetsky 
monastery  desired  to  have  them  in  the  days  of  the  mild  Feodor,  that 
he,  who  had  aforetime  chosen  the  rocky  cave  of  the  ocean  to  be  his 
lone  retreat,  might  rest  within  hearing  of  its  hoary  waves.  It  was 


1  According  to  Archbishop  Plato,  the  followers  of  Skouratoff  smothered  the  Metro- 
politan with  pillows.  The  date  of  martyrdom  coincides  with  the  early  years  of  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth  in  England. 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ASSUMPTION.        231 

right  that  the  good  shepherd,  who  had  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep, 
should  repose  on  the  spot  where  he  had  laboured  and  suffered.'— 


In  the  service  for  '  Orthodox  Sunday,'  so  striking  here, 
where  those  mentioned  are  lying  around,  the  Russian 
Church  offers 

'  to  the  most  holy  Russian  patriarchs,  John,  Hermogenes,  Philaret, 
Joasaph,  Joseph,  Nicon,  Joasaph,  Peterimus,  Joachim,  Adrian,  ever- 
lasting remembrance.' 

In  front  of  the  choir  stand  three  thrones,  for  the  Tsar, 
the  Patriarch,  and  the  Tsaritsa.  That  for  the  Tsar,  called 
the  throne  of  Vladimir  Monomachus,  is  very  curious.  The 
Tsars  did  not  sit  down,  but  stood  in  their  thrones  during 
service,  as  in  a  pulpit.  The  throne  of  the  Patriarch  being 
equal  to  that  of  the  Tsar,  indicated  his  supposed  equality 
in  ecclesiastical  power,  though  he  had  very  little  power  in- 
dependent of  the  sovereign.  Yet  two  of  the  patriarchs 
(Philaret  and  Nikon),  like  the  Tsar,  were  called  the  '  Great 
Lord  '  (veliki  gosudar).  There  were  eleven  Russian  patri- 
archs, of  whom  the  greatest  was  Nikon.  . 

'  External  changes  affected  very  slightly  the  character  and  bearing 
of  those  who  filled  the  see.  An  almost  uniform  spirit  breathes  through 
them  all.  They  were  mostly  blameless  and  venerable  men  ;  some  had 
not  unimportant  parts  to  play  in  the  leading  events  of  Russian  history. 
The  personal  veneration  shown  to  them  probably  exceeded  the  respect 
attaching  to  ecclesiastics  of  the  West.'—  Stanley's  '•Eastern  ChurcJiS 

The  last  patriarch,  who  died  in  1700,  was  Adrian,  to 
whom  Peter  the  Great  refused  to  appoint  a  successor. 
Stephen  Yavorsky,  archbishop  of  Novogorod,  chief  of  the 
conservative  clergy,  who  aspired  himself  to  become  patriarch, 


232  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

urged  Peter  to  remove  or  fill  the  throne  in  the  cathedral. 
He  replied,  '  This  chair  is  not  for  Stephen  to  sit  in,  nor  for 
Peter  to  break.'1  The  throne  remains,  but  the  dignity  of 
patriarch  was  formally  abolished  in  1721,  the  archbishops  of 
Moscow  having  since  been  only  metropolitans,  as  they  were 
before  1587,  when  the  patriarchate  was  established  by  Feodor. 
The  edict  which  Peter  published  when  suppressing  the 
patriarchate  sets  forth  as  his  reasons  that — 

'  The  common  people  are  incapable  of  understanding  the  distinction 
between  the  spiritual  power  and  the  temporal  power  :  dazzled  by  the 
virtue  and  splendour  which  illumine  the  chief  pastor  of  the  Church, 
they  imagine  him  to  be  a  second  sovereign,  equal  in  power  to  the  auto- 
crat and  even  superior  to  him  ;  if  a  disagreement  arises  between  the 
patriarch  and  the  Tsar,  they  are  inclined  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
former,  imagining  that  in  it  they  espouse  the  cause  of  God  himself.' 

Since  the  abolition  of  the  Patriarchate,  the  '  Most  Holy 
Synod,'  which  Peter  established  in  its  place,  has  been  the 
highest  ecclesiastical  power,  but  in  this  the  Tsar — '  the 
supreme  defender  and  preserver  of  the  dogmas  of  the 
dominant  faith ' — is  still,  as  was  said  of  Peter  the  Great, 
*  the  mainspring,  and  the  pendulum  his  understanding.'  The 
synod  consists  of  eight  members,  of  whom  six  are  bishops, 
and  two  (representing  the  White  clergy)  are  arch-priests, 
being  the  high  almoners  of  the  army  and  fleet. 

Here,  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption,  above  the 
'  royal  doors '  of  the  iconastos  are  seen  the  Four  Evan- 
gelists, typifying  that  through  those  portals  are  received  the 
tidings  of  the  Eucharist.  On  either  side  Adam  and  the 
Penitent  Thief  are  represented,  as  the  first  fallen  and  the  first 
redeemed.  Beyond  these  are  the  Virgin  and  the  Baptist. 

1  Dissertations  on  the  Orthodox  Communion. 


CATHEDRAL    OF   THE  ASSUMPTION.        233 

Upon  the  screen  itself  hang  the  most  sacred  pictures  in 
Russia.  The  first  is  the  Virgin  of  Vladimir,  attributed  to 
S.  Luke,  which  is  supposed  to  have  saved  Russia  from  the 
Tartars,  and  which  persuaded  Boris  Godunof  to  accept 
the  throne.  It  is  adorned  with  jewels  valued  at  45,ooo/. l 
Next  comes  the  Virgin  of  Jerusalem,  being  a  copy,  which 
was  made  for  the  patriarch  Nikon,  of  a  picture  brought  from 
Jerusalem  to  Constantinople  in  453,  and  to  Russia  in  898 
by  Vladimir,  the  original  having  been  lost  during  the  French 
invasion.  The  third  icon  is  'the  Saviour  in  the  Gold 
Chasuble,'  painted  by  the  Emperor  Manuel,  and  brought 
from  Novogorod  the  Great  in  1478. 

'  The  history  of  a  single  picture  becomes  almost  the  history  of  the 
nation.  Brought  by  Vladimir  from  Cherson,  believed  to  have  been 
painted  by  Constantine  the  Great,  used  on  every  great  occasion  of 
national  thanksgiving  and  deliverance,  deposited  in  the  most  sacred  of 
Russian  cathedrals,  the  picture,  as  it  is  called,  of  "  Our  Lady  of  Vladi- 
mir "  represents  exactly  the  idea  of  an  ancient  palladium  ;  whilst  the 
fact  that  it  is  not  a  graven  statue  vindicates  it  in  Russian  eyes  from  all, 
likeness  to  a  pagan  idol.' — Stanley. 

It  is  interesting  here,  whilst  surrounded  by  the  memorials 
of  three  of  the  greatest  saints  of  the  Russian  Church,  to  hear 
their  names  mentioned  in  one  of  the  prayers  which  are  in 
most  frequent  use  :  — 

'  O  most  merciful  Lord,  Jesus  Christ  our  God,  who  rulest  over  all, 
through  the  prayers  of  our  most  honourable  Lady,  the  mother  of  God, 
and  ever-virgin  Mary ;  through  the  aid  of  the  holy,  heavenly,  immate- 
rial virtues  of  the  venerable  prophet,  forerunner,  and  Baptist  John  ;  of 
the  holy,  glorious,  and  illustrious  apostles  ;  of  our  holy  fathers,  and 
universal  great  doctors  and  prelates,  Basil  the  Great,  Gregory  the  divine, 

1  The  Russian  Church  acknowledges  only  three  pictures  of  the  Virgin  as  the 
work  of  S.  Luke,  the  Madonna  of  Vladimir,  a  picture  in  the  Morea,  and  one  in 
Cyprus. 


234  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

and  John  Chrysostom  ;  of  our  holy  father  Nicholas,  archbishop  of 
Myra  in  Lycia,  the  wonder-worker  ;  of  our  holy  fathers  the  wonder- 
workers in  Russia— Peter,  Alexis,  Jonas,  and  Philip ;  of  the  holy, 
glorious,  and  victorious  martyrs  ;  of  the  holy  and  illustrious  parents  of 
God,  Joachim  and  Anna  (of  the  saint  whose  church  it  is,  by  name)  ; 
and  of  all  saints,  let  our  prayers  be  well-pleasing  unto  Thee  ;  grant  us 
forgiveness  of  our  sins  ;  hide  us  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  ;  drive 
away  from  us  every  enemy  and  every  adversary ;  grant  us  a  useful  life  ; 
have  mercy  on  us,  and  on  Thy  world,  and  save  our  souls  ;  for  Thou 
art  good,  and  the  lover  of  mankind.' — King. 

Everything  in  this  conservative  cathedral  belongs  to  the 
old  religion.  There  is  no  tomb  later  than  the  f'me  of  the 
reformer  Nikon.  Of  the  reformer  himself  we  may  be  re- 
minded by  the  iron  pavement  upon  which  he  threw  down 
the  icons  painted  after  the  Frankish  models  which  he  loathed, 
and  dashed  them  to  pieces,  and  by  the  holy  gates,  through 
which,  in  1658,  Nikon  emerged  bearing  the  staff  of  S.  Peter 
the  first  Metropolitan,  and  laid  it  down  before  the  most 
sacred  of  the  icons  as  he  announced  his  abdication. 

The  coronations  which  take  place  in  this  church  are 
preceded  by  fasting  and  seclusion  on  the  part  of  the 
Emperor.  In  the  ceremony  itself  the  monarch  is  no  passive 
recipient,  but  the  leading  actor  in  the  scene  ;  himself  re- 
citing the  confession  of  the  orthodox  faith  ;  himself  alone, 
upon  his  knees,  offering  the  intercessory  prayer  for  the 
empire  ;  himself  placing  the  crown  on  his  own  head  ;  him- 
self entering  the  doors  of  the  inner  sanctuary,  and  taking 
from  the  altar  the  bread  and  wine,  of  which,  in  virtue  of 
his  consecration,  he  communicates  with  the  ecclesiastics  pre- 
sent.1 The  cathedral  should  be  visited  on  one  of  the  great 
church  festivals  when  the  Metropolitan  officiates  in  person. 

1  Boris  Godunof  also  rent  his  robes  at  his  coronation  to  signify  that  he  should 
always  ba  ready  to  divide  his  goods  with  the  poor. 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ANNUNCIATION.     235 

'  The  position  of  the  Metropolitan  (officiating  in  the  cathedral)  was 
such  as  might  have  excited  envy  in  the  minds  not  only  of  English 
ritualists,  but  of  the  greatest  Popes  and  cardinals  of  the  West.  Never 
have  I  seen  such  respect  paid  to  any  ecclesiastic  ;  not  only  during  all 
the  elaboration  of  the  Russian  ceremonial  — when  with  the  utmost  sim- 
plicity he  bore  the  clothing  and  unclothing,  and  even  the  passing  to 
and  fro  of  the  broad  comb  through  the  outstanding  flakes  of  his  hair 
and  beard  — or  when  he  stood  on  the  carpet  where  was  embroidered 
the  old  Roman  eagle  of  the  Pagan  empire.  But  still  more  at  the 
moment  of  his  departure.  He  came  out  for  the  last  time  in  the  service 
to  give  his  blessing,  and  then  descended  the  chancel  steps  to  leave  the 
church.  Had  he  been  made  of  pure  gold,  and  had  every  touch  carried 
away  a  fragment  of  him,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  could  hardly 
have  been  greater  to  kiss  his  hand,  or  lay  a  finger  on  the  hem  of  his 
garment.  The  crowd  frantically  tossed  to  and  fro,  as  they  struggled 
towards  him — men,  officers,  soldiers.  Faintly  and  slowly  his  white 
cowl  was  seen  moving  on  and  out  of  the  church,  till  he  plunged  into 
another  vaster  crowd  outside  ;  and  when  at  last  he  drove  off  in  his 
coach,  drawn  by  six  black  horses,  everyone  stood  bareheaded  as  he 
passed.  The  sounding  of  the  bells  in  all  the  churches  in  each  street  as 
the  carriage  passed  by,  made  it  easy  to  track  his  course  long  after  he  was 
out  of  sight.' — Stanleys  '  Essays  on  Church  and  State? 

The  little  Cathedral  of  the  Annunciation — Blagovestchen- 
ski  Sobor— distinguished  by  its  many  golden  domes,  is 
almost  overshadowed  by  the  immense  palace  which  rises 
behind  it.  It  occupies  the  site  of  a  church  erected  by 
Andrew  III.,  son  of  Alexander  Nevskoi,  in  1291,  but  chiefly 
dates  from  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible.  It  is  approached 
by  a  passage  lined  with  frescoes  of  Homer,  Thucydides, 
Pythagoras,  and  Plato  as  preparers  of  the  way  for  Christianity. * 
There  is  here  no  dim  religious  light,  only  gorgeous  barbaric 
splendour,  and  a  pavement  of  agate  and  jasper,  upon  which 
the  marriages  of  the  Tsars  were  celebrated. 

To  the  foreigner,  there  would  seem  to  be  more  of  idolatry 

'  The  same   pioneers  are  represented  in   many  other   churches  of  the  Eastern 
Church. 


236 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA 


to  the  icons  here,  than  to  the  most  sacred  images  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  ruder  the  art,  the  more 
intense  appears  to  be  the  devotion  aroused  ;  a  blackened 
painted  board,  gaudily  tinselled  over,  excites  the  deepest 
religious  feelings  of  the  Russians. 

Of  the  icons  in  this  cathedral,  the  most  famous  is  the 


CATHEDRAL   OF   THE   ANNUNCIATION. 


Virgin  of  the  Don,  which  was  carried  at  the  battle  of  Kuli- 
kovo  (1380),  and  was  again  taken  out  against  the  enemy  by 
Boris  Godunof  in  1591,  when  defending  Moscow  for  his 
brother-in-law,  the  Tsar  Feodor  Ivanovitch,  against  Kazi 
Hirey,  the  Khan  of  the  Crimea. 

'With  the  greatest  goodwill  in  the  world,  the  French  did  not  dis- 
cover all  the  gold  here.  A  rent  was  made  with  hammer  and  tongs  in 
the  frame  of  the  Virgin  of  the  Don,  which  is  of  pure  gold,  but  they 
were  smitten  with  blindness,  and  rejected  it  as  copper.  The  priests 


CATHEDRAL    OF   THE  ANNUNCIATION,     237 

would  not  allow  the  rent  to  be  repaired,  and  show  it  triumphantly  to 
strangers  as  a  proof  of  the  miracle.  The  golden  cross  that  graces  the 
central  cupola  also  escaped.  The  French  had  heard  of  a  massive  golden 
cross  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  Kremlin,  and  supposed  the  great 
far-off  glittering  cross  of  the  "Great  Ivan"  to  be  the  right  one. 
Napoleon  caused  it  to  be  taken  down,  and  convinced  himself  that 
it  was  made  of  wood,  covered  with  copper-gilt  ;  while  the  real  golden 
cross  remained  safely  among  his  three  mock  brethren. 

'  Thus  the  French  twice  exposed  themselves  to  the  ridicule  of  the 
Russians  :  once  by  rejecting  gold  as  copper,  and  once  by  carrying  off 

copper  for  gold.' — Kohl. 

* 

The  ballad  of  Dmitri,  the  conqueror  of  Kulikovo,  is  one 
of  the  most  striking  of  those  sung  by  the  kalieki.  The  scene 
is  laid  in  this  church  nine  years  after  the  famous  battle 
against  the  Tartars.  ' 

'  On  the  eve  of  the  Saturday  of  S.  Dmitri,  in  the  holy  cathedral  of 
the  Annunciation,  S.  Cyprian  the  metropolitan  was  singing  the  mass, 
and  the  prince  Dmitri  was  assisting  with  his  princess  Eudoxia,  with 
his  princes  and  boyars,  with  his  famous  captains. 

'  Suddenly  Prince  Dmitri  ceased  to  pray ;  he  leant  against  a  pillar, 
he  was  suddenly  rapt  in  spirit ;  his  spiritual  eyes  were  opened  :  he 
had  a  strange  vision. 

'He  no  longer  saw  the  candles  burning  before  the  icons  :  he  no 
longer  heard  the  -music  of  the  sacred  choirs  :  it  was  the  wild  country, 
the  battle-field  of  Kulikovo,  which  he  saw.  It  was  sown  with  the 
corpses  of  Christians  and  Tartars,  the  bodies  of  the  Christians  like 
melting  wax,  the  bodies  of  the  Tartars  like  black  pitch. 

'  On  this  field  of  Kulikovo,  the  holy  Mother  of  God  was  walking. 
Behind  her  were  the  angels  of  the  Saviour  ;  the  angels  and  the  holy 
archangels,  with  burning  tapers  :  they  sang  the  holy  songs  over  the 
relics  of  the  orthodox  warriors  ;  it  was  the  Mother  of  God  herself  who 
incensed  them,  and  crowns  descended  upon  them  from  heaven. 

'And  the  Mother  of  God  asked,  "  Where  is  the  Prince  Dmitri?  " 
The  Apostle  Peter  answered  her,  "  The  Prince  Dmitri  is  in  the  town 
of  Moscow,  and  in  the  holy  cathedral  of  the  Assumption  ;  he  is  hear- 
ing the  liturgy  with  his  princess  Eudoxia,  with  his  princes  and  boyars, 
with  his  famous  captains." 

'  Then  the  Mother  of  God  said  :   "  The  Prince  Dmitri  is  not  in  his 


2.38  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

place  :  he  should  be  leading  the  choirs  of  the  martyrs  ;  but  as  for  his 
princess,  her  place  is  in  my  flock." 

'  Then  the  vision  vanished.  The  candles  were  burning  in  the 
church,  the  precious  stones  sparkled  upon  the  altars.  Dmitri  came  to 
himself,  wept  abundantly,  and  spoke  thus  : — 

'  "  Know  that  the  hour  of  my  death  is  at  hand,  soon  I  shall  be  laid 
in  the  coffin,  and  iry  princess  will  take  the  veil." 

'  And  in  memory  of  this  strange  vision,  he  instituted  the  Saturday 
of  S.  Dmitri.' 

The  Cathedral  of  the  Archangel  Michael—  -Arkhangelsk! 
Sober — was  originally  built  to  commemorate  the  deliverance 
of  Russia  from  famine  in  1333.  The  existing  building  is 
due  to  Aleviso  of  Milan  in  1507,  but  has  since  been  restored. 
Ivan  the  Great  removed  hither  the  remains  of  the  earlier 
princes  who  had  been  buried  in  a  more  ancient  church  from 
the  time  of  its  builder  Ivan  Kalita,  grandson  of  Alexander 
Nevskoi  (1341),  and  the  sovereigns  continued  to  be  interred 
here  till  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  whose  grandson,  the 
Emperor  Peter  II.,  has  been  the  only  prince  buried  here 
since.  The  tombs  are  arranged  in  genealogical  order,  '  a 
sepulchral  chronicle  of  the  Russian  monarchy.' *  Forty-five 
princes  lie  within  the  walls  of  the  church,  their  simple  tombs 
covered  with  palls.  Many  are  brothers  or  sons  of  sovereigns, 
who  frequently,  like  the  uncles  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  died 
unnatural  deaths. 

Above  the  grave  of  each  prince  who  was  a  sovereign  is 
his  figure,  painted  in  the  white  robes,  not  of  canonisation, 
but  of  the  consecration  at  his  coronation,  immediately  after 
which  he  always  visited  this  church.  Here,  that  he 
might  call  to  mind  more  vividly  their  exploits  and  their 
virtues,  Dmitri  of  the  Don  came  to  pray  amid  the  tombs 

1  Stephen  qf  Moldavia. 


CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  ARCHANGEL.    239 

of  his  ancestors  immediately  before  his  victorious  expedition 
against  the  Tartars,1  and  here  (1389)  S.  Sergius  assisted  at 
the  funeral  rites  of  the  hero  himself.  Amongst  the  earliest 
princes  transferred  here  from  the  old  church,  are  Ivan 
Kalita  (1341),  its  founder,  and  his  son,  Simeon  the  Proud, 
who  died  of  the  Plague  (whose  will  is  the  first  document  on 
paper,  not  parchment,  existing  in  Russia).  Next  to  these 
are  Ivan  II.  (1359),  and  his  grandson  Dmitri  Donskoi 
(1389),  who  gained  the  great  victory  of  Kulikovo  over  the 
Tartar  Mamai",  which  was,  however,  so  useless  in  protecting 
Moscow  from  the  Tartars,  by  whom  it  was  sacked  and 
burnt,  that  Dmitri,  weeping  afterwards  over  the  ruins  of  his 
capital,  cried,  '  Our  fathers,  who  gained  no  victories  over  the 
Tartars,  were  happier  than  we.'  Next  follow  Vassili  Dmitri  - 
vitch  (1425),  and  Vassili  the  Blind  (1462),  under  whom 
the  Tartar  punishment  of  the  knout  was  introduced  into 
Russia. 

The  tombs  contemporary  with  the  existing  church  begin 
with  that  of  its  founder  Ivan  III.,  or  the  Great  (1462-1505), 
who  established  the  Russian  monarchy,  that  strange  victor 
of  Kazan  '  who  triumphed  over  his  enemies  whilst  remaining 
quietly  at  home.' l  In  his  reign  the  knowledge  of  gun- 
powder and  the  art  of  casting  cannon  were  brought  into 
Russia,  and  the  kremlins  of  Moscow  and  Novogorod  were 
built  by  Italian  architects.  His  second  wife  was  Sophia 
Paleologus,  the  last  of  her  line,  through  whom  Russia  in- 
herited the  ceremonial  of  the  Byzantine  empire. 

'  Ivan  became  one  of  the  most  illustrious  monarchs  of  Europe  ; 
honoured  and  respected  from  Rome  to  Constantinople,  from  Vienna  to. 
Copenhagen,  equal  to  the  emperors  and  the  proud  sultans.  Without 

1   Karamsin,  v. 


240  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

study,  without  other  guide  than  his  own  genius,  he  taught  himself  wise 
precepts  of  external  and  internal  policy  :  '  employing  force  and  craft  in 
turn  to  establish  the  independence  and  integrity  of  Russia,  to  destroy  the 
empire  of  Bati  Khan,  to  repress  and  divide  Lithuania,  to  annihilate  the 
liberty  of  the  Novogorodians,  to  resume  the  appanages  formerly  granted, 
and  reunite  them  to  the  Grand-Principality,  to  extend  the  Moscovite 
domains  as  far  as  the  deserts  of  Siberia  and  to  the  Norwegian  Laponia. 
He  created,  on  the  basis  of  a  far-sighted  moderation,  a  prudent  system 
of  war  and  peace,  which  his  successors  had  only  to  follow  in  order  to 
consolidate  the  power  of  the  State.  ...  He  wished,  by  all  possible 
external  means,  so  to  raise  himself  above  his  fellow  men,  as  to  make 
a  strong  impression  upon  the  imagination  ;  having  at  length  penetrated 
the  secret  of  autocracy,  he  became  like  an  earthly  god  to  the  eyes  of 
the  Russians,  who  began  from  that  time  to  astonish  all  other  nations  by 
their  blind  submission  to  the  will  of  their  sovereign.  He  was  the  first 
in  Russia  to  receive  the  surname  of  the  Terrible,  but  he  was  terrible 
only  to  his  enemies  and  to  rebels.  Meanwhile,  without  being  a  tyrant, 
like  his  grandson  Ivan  IV.,  he  had  a  certain  natural  harshness  of 
character,  which  he  knew  how  to  subdue  by  his  strength  of  will.  It  is 
said  that  a  single  glance  from  Ivan,  when  he  was  in  a  paroxysm  of 
fury,  was  enough  to  make  timid  women  faint  away ;  that  suppliants 
dreaded  to  approach  his  throne  ;  that  even  at  his  table,  the  nobles 
trembled  before  him,  not  daring  to  utter  a  single  word  or  to  make  the 
slightest  movement.  Whilst  the  monarch,  fatigued  with  noisy  converse, 
and  warmed  with  wine,  gave  himself  up  to  sleep  towards  the  end  of  the 
repast,  all,  seated  in  profound  silence,  waited  for  a  fresh  order  to  amuse 
themselves  before  they  presumed  to  be  merry.' — Karamsin,  vi. 

The  space  on  one  side  of  Ivan  the  Great  is  occupied  by 
his  father  Vassili  Vassilievitch,  Basil  the  Blind,  whose  eyes 
were  put  out  by  his  cousin  Shemiaka,  when  he  had  seized 
his  throne,  and  hoped  thus  to  disqualify  the  Grand- 
Prince  from  reascending  it,  though  he  was  eventually  re- 
instated by  the  affection  and  pity  of  his  subjects.  On  the 
other  side  of  Ivan  III.  rests  his  son,  Vassili  Ivanovitch 
(1505-1533),  under  whom  the  movement  was  continued, 

1  See  The  Laws  of  the  Grand  Prince  Ivan  III.  Vassilievitch.  and  of  the  Tsar 
Ivan  IV.  Vassilicvttch)  edited  by  Kalai'dovitch  Stroef  (Moscow,  1819). 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ARCHANGEL.  241 

THE    GRAND-PRINCES  AND    TSARS  OF  MOSCOW 
AND    THEIR   SONS. 

DANIEL,  fourth  son  of  Alexander  Nevskoi, 
and  sixth  in  descent  from  Vladimir  Monomachus 


.1 

Youri        Alexander         Boris         IVAN  I.  (Kalita),        Athanasius 
1328-1341 

I  ,      i  i 

SIMEON  (the  Proud),  1340-1353        IVAN  II.,  1353-1359  Andrew 

|                                                        j          Vladimir  the  Brave 
DMITRI  (Donskoi),  1363-1389                       Ivan 
I 

i  .  '  :    .  I  !  "  I 

Daniel        VASSILI  I.  (Dmitrivitch),         Youri        Andrew        Peter        Ivan         Constantine 
1389-1425 


Ivan  VASSILT  IT.  (the  Blind),         Anne,  who  married  Manuel,  son  of  the  Emperor 

1425-1465  of  Constantinople,  1414 

I 

i  I  !    .  I  !  i 

Youri  IVAN  III.  (the  Great),  Youri  Andrew  Boris  Andrew 

1462-1505 
I 

I  I  I     .  I  i  I 

Ivan  VASSILI  III.  (Ivanovitch),         Youri  Dmitri  Simeon  Andrew 

1505-1533 

Dmitri          IVAN  IV.  (the  Terrible),  Youri 


|  i 

Dmitri         Ivan         FEODOR  (Ivanovitch),  S.  Dmitri 

1584-1598 

BORIS  GODUNOF  (brother-in-law  of  Feodor),  by  popular  election,  1598-1605 

FEODOR  BORISVITCH,  by  succession  to  his  father,  1605 

DMITRI,  the  Usurper,  1605-1606 

VASSILI  SHOUISKI,  by  election  of  the  Moscovites  only,  1606 

MICHAEL  ROMANOFF  (Feodorovitch),  by  popular  election,  1613-1645 

ALEXIS  (Michailovitch), 
1645-1676 

I 


I  I  I 

FEODOR  (Alexievitch),  IVAN,  PETER  THE  GREAT 

1676-1682  1682-1695  1682-1700 


242  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

which  impelled  Russia  towards  unity  and  autocracy.  The 
next  tomb  of  a  sovereign  prince  is  that  of  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor Ivan  IV.  'the  Terrible'  (1533-1584),  the  first  ruler 
who  took  the  name  of  Tsar.1  Having  been  treated  with 
the  greatest  harshness  and  insolence  by  the  boyars  after  his 
father's  death,  and  still  more  after  that  of  his  mother  the 
Regent  Helena,  who  perished  by  poison,  he  confounded 
his  enemies  by  an  extraordinary  coup  d'etat  when  he  was 
only  thirteen  years  old,  and  seized  the  supreme  power, 
which  he  never  let  go  again.  Rendered  famous  early  in 
his  reign  by  the  final  conquest  of  Kazan,  it  is  to  this  prince 
that  Russia  owes  its  first  written  code  of  laws  ;  he  it  is  who 
instituted  the  first  standing  army  ;  who  abolished  the  use 
of  the  bow,  and  trained  his  soldiers  to  the  use  of  firearms  ; 
who  introduced  printing  into  Russia,2  promoted  commerce, 
encouraged  foreign  merchants  ;  who  granted  free  exercise 
of  their  religion  to  foreigners,  and  formed  the  design,  cut 
short  by  his  death,  of  instituting  colleges  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  Latin  and  German  languages.  These  virtues,  and 
the  increasing  devotion  of  the  Russians  to  their  sovereign, 
caused  the  whole  people  to  implore  him  to  retain  his  throne 
when  he  wished  to  abdicate,  though  by  his  vengeance  for  the 
severity  with  which  he  had  been  treated  by  the  boyars  in 
early  life,  he  well  deserved,  as  a  man,  the  surname  by  which 
he  is  remembered.  Endless  are  the  terrible  stories  which  are 

1  '  This  word  is  not  an  abridgment  of  the  Latin  "  Caesar,"  as  many  learned  persons 
believe  without  foundation.  It  is  an  ancient  Oriental  name  known  in  Russia  through 
the  Slavonic  translation  of  the  Bible.  Applied  at  first  to  the  emperors  of  the  East, 
and  then  to  the  Tartar  khans,  it  signifies  in  Persian  the  throne,  the  supreme 
authority,  and  it  may  be  observed  in  the  termination  of  the  names  of  kings  of  Assyria 
and  Babylon,  such  as  Phalassar,  Nabonassar.' — Karamsin,  vi. 

2  The  printing  press  was  established  in  1553,  but  the  first  printed  volume,  the 
'  Acts  of  the  Apostles,' preserved  in  the  Imperial  Library  at  S.  Petersburg,  did  not 
appear  till  1564. 


CATHEDRAL   OF  THE  ARCHANGEL.         243 

told  about  him.  It  is  said  that  if,  when  he  was  out  walking, 
he  met  with  anyone  whose  appearance  displeased  him,  he 
would  order  his  head  to  be  struck  off  at  once,  and  he  would 
let  bears  loose  upon  the  crowds  in  the  streets  of  Moscow, 
that  he  might  divert  himself  with  their  outcries.  There  is  a 
characteristic,  though  fabulous  story,  that  he  ordered  the 
hat  of  the  English  ambassador,  Sir  Jerome  Bowes,  to  be 
nailed  to  his  head,  because  he  did  not  remove  it  in  his 
presence.  When  he  was  already  married  to  his  fifth  wife. 
he  proposed  for  Lady  Mary  Hastings,  under  the  impression 
that  she  was  cousin  to  Elizabeth  of  England,  though  when 
the  lady  heard  of  his  cruelties  and  of  how  often  he  had  been 
married  already,  she  persuaded  her  father  to  refuse  to  let 
her  go.  Eventually  Ivan  died  of  grief  for  the  death  of  his 
son  Ivan  from  a  blow  on  the  head  which  his  own  hand 
had  given  with  the  same  iron-pointed  staff  with  which  he  is 
said  to  have  pinned  to  the  ground  the  foot  of  the  messenger 
who  brought  him  the  news  of  Prince  Andrew  Kourbsky's 
having  deserted  to  the  Poles,  leaning  upon  it  whilst  he  read 
the  letter. 

'  II  faut  vous  decrire,  une  fois  pour  toutes,  quelques-uns  des  raffine- 
ments  de  cruaute  inventes  par  lui  centre  les  soi-disant  coupables  qu'il 
veut  punir  :  il  les  fait  bouillir  par  parties,  tandis  qu'on  les  arrose  d'eau 
glacee  sur  le  reste  du  corps  :  il  les  fait  ecorcher  vifs  en  sa  presence ;  puis 
il  fait  lacerer  par  lanieres  leurs  chairs  mises  a  nu  et  palpitantes  ;  cepen- 
dant  ses  yeux  se  repaissent  de  leur  sang,  de  leurs  convulsions;  ses  oreilles, 
de  leurs  cris  ;  quelquefois  il  les  acheve  de  sa  main  a  coups  de  poignards, 
niais  le  plus  souvent,  se  reprochant  cet  acte  de  clemence  comine  une 
faiblesse,  il  menage  aussi  longtemps  que  possible  le  cceur  et  la  tete,  pour 
faire  durer  le  supplice ;  il  ordonne  qu'on  depece  les  membres,  mais  avec 
art  et  sans  attaquer  le  tronc  ;  puis  il  fait  jeter  un  a  un  ces  tron9ons  vivants 
a  des  betes  affamees  et  avides  de  cette  miserable  chair  dont  elles  s'arra- 
chent  les  affreux  lambeaux,  en  presence  des  victimes  a  demi-hachees. 

'  Quand  il  se  venge,  il  poursuit  le  cours  de  se?  justices  jusqu'au 

\  R  7. 


244  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

dernier  degre  de  parente,  exterminant  des  families  entieres,  jeunes  filles, 
vieillards,  femmes  grosses  et  petits  enfants  ;  il  ne  se  borne  pas,  comme 
les  tyrans  vulgaires,  a  frapper  siniplement  quelques  families,  quelques 
individus  suspects;  on  le  voit,  singeant  le  Dieu  des  Juifs,  tuerjusqu'a 
des  provinces  sans  y  faire  grace  a  personne  ;  tout  y  passe,  tout  ce  qui  a 
eu  vie  disparait ;  tout,  jusqu'aux  animaux,  jusqu'aux  poissons  qu'il  em- 
poisonne  dans  les  lacs,  dans  les  rivieres,  le  croirez-vous  ?  II  oblige  les 
fils  a  faire  1'office  de  bourreaux  centre  leurs  peres  !  .  .  .  et  il  s'en  trouve 
qui  obeissent  ! 

'  Se  servant  de  corps  humains  pour  horloges,  Ivan  invente  des 
poisons  a  heure  fixe,  et  parvient  a  marquer  avec  une  regularite  satis- 
faisante  les  moindres  divisions  de  son  temps  par  le  mort  de  ses  sujets, 
echelonnes  avec  art  de  minute  en  minute  sur  le  chemin  du  tombeau 
qu'il  tient  sans  cesse  ouvert  pour  eux  ;  la  precision  la  plus  scrupuleu.se 
preside  a  ce  divertissement  infernal.' — M.  de  Custine. 

And  yet — 

'  Neither  tortures  nor  dishonour  had  the  power  of  weakening  the 
devotion  of  the  Russians  to  their  sovereign.  Of  this  we  will  give  a 
remarkable  proof.  The  Prince  Sougorsky,  sent  on  a  mission  to  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  in  1576,  fell  sick  whilst  he  was  crossing  Courland. 
From  respect  to  the  Tsar,  the  Duke  frequently  enquired  after  the  health 
of  the  ambassador  by  his  own  minister,  who  heard  him  constantly 
repeat — "  My  health  is  nothing,  if  only  that  of  our  sovereign  continues 
good."  The  minister,  astonished,  asked  him  —  "  How  can  you  serve  a 
tyrant  with  so  much  zeal  ?  "  "  We  Russians,"  said  Prince  Sougorsky, 
"  are  always  devoted  to  our  tsars  whether  they  are  good  or  cruel." 
And  as  a  proof  of  what  he  affirmed,  the  sick  man  recounted  that,  some 
time  before,  Ivan  had  caused  one  of  his  nobles  to  be  impaled  for  a 
slight  fault,  and  that  this  unfortunate  man  had  lived  twenty-four  hours 
in  terrific  agonies,  conversing  from  time  to  time  with  his  wife  and 
children,  and  ceaselessly  repeating,  "Great  God,  protect  the  Tsar  !  "  ' 
Karanisin. 

'  Ivan  was  a  goodlie  man  of  person  and  presence,  well-favoured, 
high-forehead,  shrill  voice,  a  right  Sithian,  full  of  readie  wisdom, 
cruel,  bloudye,  merciless  ;  his  own  experience  mannaged  by  direction 
both  his  state  and  commonwealth  affares.  He  was  sumptuously 
interred  in  Michell  Archangell  Church,  where  he,  though  guarded  day 
and  night,  remaines  a  fearfull  spectacle  to  the  memorie  of  such  as  pass 
by  or  hear  his  name  spoken  of,  who  are  entreated  to  cross  and  bless 


CATHEDRAL  OF  THE  ARCHANGEL.    245 

themselves  from  his  resurrection  again.' — Sir  Jerome  Horsey,  A  ml  as- 
sador>  MS.  in  Brit.  Mits. 

An  old  Russian  song  describes  the  burial  of  Ivan — 

Ah  !  thou  bright  moon  ;  father  *  moon, 

Why  dost  thou  not  shine  as  of  old  time  ? 

Not  as  of  old  time,  as  before  ? 

Why  art  thou  hidden  by  a  dark  cloud  ? 

It  happened  to  us  in  holy  Russia  — 

In  holy  Russia  — in  Moscow,  the  stone-built — 

In  Moscow,  the  stone-built,  in  the  golden  Kremlin. 

At  the  Ouspenski  Cathedral 

Of  Michael  the  Archangel 

They  beat  upon  the  great  bell  — 

They  gave  forth  a  sound  over  the  whole  damp  mother  earth. 

All  the  princes — the  boyars— came  together, 

All  the  warrior  people  assembled, 

To  pray  to  God  in  the  Ouspenski  Cathedral. 

There  was  a  new  coffin  made  of  cypress  wood  : 

In  the  coffin  lies  the  orthodox  Tsar — - 

The  orthodox  Tsar,  Ivan  Vassilivitch  the  Terrible. 

At  his  head  lies  the  life-giving  cross  ; 

By  the  cross  lies  the  imperial  crown ; 

At  his  feet  lies  the  terrible  sword  ; 

Around  the  coffin  burn  the  holy  lights  ; 

In  front  of  the  coffin  stand  all  the  priests  and  patriarchs ; 

They  read,  they  pray,  they  repeat  the  valediction  to  the  dead, 

To  our  orthodox  Tsar — 

Our  Tsar  Ivan  Vassilivitch  the  Terrible.' 

Trans,  in  MorfilFs  '  Russia. ' 

Near  Ivan  lies  his  second  son  and  successor  Feodor 
(Theodore)  Ivanovitch  (1584-98),  a  weak,  though  religious 
prince,  so  incapable  as  to  be  entirely  ruled  by  the  brother 
of  his  beautiful  wife  Irene,  the  Boyar  Boris  Godunof,  who 
became  his  successor.  In  spite  of  his  failings,  his  death 

1  '  Moon  '  in  Russia  is  masculine. 


246  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

was  lamented  with  anguish,  because  in  his  person  the  male 
line  of  the  house  of  Ruric  came  to  an  end  after  a  rule  of 
more  than  seven  hundred  years. 

'  As  the  grave  was  opened  to  place  the  coffin  of  Feodor  by  that  of 
Ivan,  the  people  expressed  aloud  their  gratitude  to  the  dead,  for  the 
happiness  enjoyed  during  his  reign,  praising  with  tears  the  personal 
virtues  of  this  angel  of  sweetness,  which  he  had  received  as  a  heritage 
from  his  mother  Anastasia,  of  eternal  memory.  They  did  not  speak  of 
Feodor  as  a  Tsar,  but  as  a  tender  father,  and  in  the  reality  of  their 
sorrow,  they  forgot  the  weakness  of  his  character.  When  the  corpse 
was  lowered  into  the  grave,  the  Patriarch  and  all  the  people,  lifting  up 
their  hands  to  heaven,  besought  the  Most  High  that  He  would  preserve 
Russia  and  take  them  under  His  protection.'—  -Karamsin,  ix. 


But  the  devotion  paid  to  all  the  relics  of  Virgin  or  saints 
in  this  church  pales  before  that  which  is  given  to  the  tomb 
of  a  child  of  nine  years  old,  Dmitri,  youngest  son  of  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  by  his  seventh  wife,  the  last  descendant  of 
S.  Vladimir,  of  Monomachus,  of  the  Ivans  and  Georges,  who 
is  believed  to  have  been  murdered  at  Uglitch  by  order  of 
Boris  Godunof,  and  who,  had  he  lived,  would  have  been 
the  natural  successor  of  Feodor.  In  this  country  it  is 
rightly  said  that  the  Russian  religion  is  far  more  regarded 
than  the  Christian.  '  Whence  art  thou,  that  thou  knowest 
not  the  tomb  of  S.  Dmitri  ? '  characteristically  exclaimed  an 
indignant  priest  to  Clarke  the  traveller. 

The  murder  of  Dmitri  shocked  Russia  more  than  all  the 
cruelties  of  his  father.  Many  innocent  Russian  princes  had 
been  put  to  death  before,  but  it  was  by  order  of  the  Tsar  ; 
in  the  case  of  Dmitri  a  simple  boyar  had  sacrificed  to  his 
ambition  the  son  of  his  benefactor,  the  only  remaining 
descendant  of  the  founders  of  Russia. 


CATHEDRAL   OF   THE  ARCHANGEL,         247 

'  A  tender  mother  watched  over  Dmitri :  warned  by  secret  friends, 
or  by  her  own  heart,  she  redoubled  her  care  for  the  child  of  her  heart. 
She  never  left  him  by  day  or  night  ;  she  never  quitted  his  chamber 
except  to  go  to  church  ;  she,  and  she  alone,  prepared  his  food,  and 
would  not  entrust  him,  either  to  the  treacherous  Volokhoff,  his 
governess,  or  to  his  devoted  nurse  Irene.  A  considerable  time  elapsed, 
after  which  the  assassins,  despairing  of  being  able  to  commit  their 
crime  in  secret,  resolved  to  carry  it  out  openly,  in  the  hope  that  the 
powerful  and  crafty  Godunof,  to  save  his  honour,  would  find  a  mean^ 
of  concealing  the  act  from  the  eyes  of  his  dumb  slaves,  for  they  only 
thought  of  men  and  not  of  God  !  On  the  fifteenth  of  May,  a  Saturday, 
at  the  sixth  hour  of  the  day,  the  Tsaritsa  came  back  from  church  with 
her  son,  and  was  preparing  for  dinner.  Her  brothers  were  away  from 
the  palace,  and  the  servants  were  occupied  with  their  domestic  duties. 
At  that  moment  the  governess  Volokhoff  called  to  Dmitri  to  take  him 
out  for  a  walk  in  the  court  ;  the  Tsaritsa  wished  to  follow,  but  unfortu- 
nately her  attention  was  called  off,  and  she  lingered.  The  nurse  wished 
to  prevent  the  Tsarevitch  from  going  out,  though  from  no  reason  which 
she  could  account  for,  but  the  governess  drew  him  forcibly  into  the  ves- 
tibule, and  thence,  upon  the  staircase,  where  they  were  met  by  Joseph 
Volokhoff,  Daniel  Bitiagofsky,  and  Katchatoff.  The  first  of  these, 
taking  Dmitri  by  the  hand,  said,  "  Sire,  you  have  a  new  collar  on." 
The  child,  raising  his  head  with  an  innocent  smile,  said,  "  No,  it  is  an 
old  one."  At  that  moment  the  knife  of  the  assassin  struck  him,  but, 
whilst  only  slightly  wounded  in  the  throat,  he  slipped  from  the  hands  of 
Volokhoff.  The  nurse  then  raised  piercing  outcries,  clasping  her  infant 
sovereign  in  her  arms.  Volokhoff  took  flight.  But  Daniel  Bitiagofsky 
and  Katchatoff  snatched  the  Tsarevitch  from  his  nurse,  stabbed  him,  and 
threw  him  down  the  staircase,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  Tsaritsa 
made  her  appearance,  coming  from  the  vestibule.  The  young  martyr, 
of  nine  years  old,  already  lay  bleeding  in  the  arms  of  his  nurse,  who  had 
tried  to  defend  him  at  the  risk  of  her  life.  "  He  palpitated  like  a  dove," 
and  breathed  his  last  without  hearing  the  cries  of  his  frantic  mother. 
The  nurse  pointed  out  with  her  finger  the  wicked  governess,  trembling 
at  the  crime,  as  well  as  the  assassins  who  were  crossing  the  court.  No 
one  was  then  at  hand  to  arrest  them,  but  the  Divine  Avenger  was  pre- 
sent. ' — Karamsin. 

'  Within  the  Church  of  the  Archangel,  amidst  the  tombs  of  the 
tsars,  the  one  coffin  glittering  with  jewels  and  gold  is  that  of  the  young 
child  Demetrius,  whose  death  or  martyrdom  was  lamented  with  an 
everlasting  lamentation,  as  the  cause  of  the  convulsions  which  followed 
upon  it."1-- Stanley. 


248  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  early  sovereigns  of  the  house  of  Romanoff,  under 
whom  the  wounds  of  the  kingdom  caused  by  the  usurpers 
(who  succeeded  Feodor  and  Boris  Godunof)  were  healed, 
all  lie  in  the  body  of  the  church,  between  the  pillars.1  Of 
these  the  first  was  Michael  Feodorovitch  (1613-1645),  who 
owed  his  election  in  his  seventeenth  year  partly  to  the 
reputation  for  ability  and  virtue  of  his  father,  the  patriarch 
Philaret,2  who  was  then  in  a  Polish  prison,  and  partly  to 
his  bearing  the  name  of  Romanoff,  a  family  allied,  by  his  first 
marriage,  to  Ivan  IV.,  which  at  that  time  expressed  the 
essence  of  the  national  sentiment.3  When  the  deputies 
came  to  the  young  Michael  at  Kostroma  announcing  his 
election,  he  burst  into  tears  and  refused  to  accept  it,  but 
yielding  afterwards  to  importunity,  he  reigned  prosperously 
for  twenty-three  years,  owing  much  to  the  guidance  of  his 
father,  who  was  released  and  returned  to  Moscow  in  1618. 

Next  to  Michael  lies  Alexis  Michailovitch  (1645-1676), 
his  son  by  Eudoxia  Strechnef,  admirable  as  well  for  his 
virtues  as  for  his  institutions  and  for  the  discipline  which 
he  introduced  into  the  army.  His  people  called  him  '  the 
most  debonair.'  He  introduced  shipbuilders  from  Amster- 
dam and  made  vessels  for  the  Caspian.  Unfortunately, 
the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  '  the  new  Caesar  of  the  Empire 
of  Orthodoxy,'  as  he  was  addressed  by  the  German  emperor, 


1  The  Tsar  Boris  Godunof  and  the  two  usurpers  who  followed  him  lie  away. 
Godunof,  who  is  now  looked  upon  as  the  originator  of  serfdom,  was  cast  out  of  the 
Church  by  the  false  Dmitri,  and  now  rests  at  the  Troitsa  ;  the  body  of  Dmitri  was 
dragged  to  the  place  called  '  Kettles,'  seven  versts  from  Moscow,  on  the  SerpoukofF 
road,  where  it  was  burnt  and  his  ashes  thrown  to  the  four  winds.  For  Shuiski 
(elected  Tsar  as  Vassili  V.  May  19,  1606,  who  abdicated  peacefully,  and  died  a  monk 
at  Warsaw)  a  little  chapel  was  erected,  and  a  tomb  on  which  he  is  styled  Knas  and 
Tsar,  but  not  Velikoi  Knas,  or  Grand-Duke. 

"   Martha,  mother  of  Alexis,  was  afterwards  a  nun  in  a  convent  at  Kostroma. 

3  See  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  fa  Rnssie. 


CATHEDRAL   OF   THE  ARCHANGEL.         249 

was  troubled  by  his  disputes  with  the  Patriarch  Nikon, 
under  whom  the  Russian  Church  was  rising  to  the  powerful 
position  it  has  since  occupied  ;  yet  it  was  the  Tsar  Alexis 
who  traced  all  the  outlines  which  were  filled  in  later  by 
his  illustrious  son  Peter  the  Great 

'  Si  Alexis  ne  fit  pas  la  reforme,  son  regne  en  fut  la  preparation.' — 
Rambaud. 

More  than  any  other,  sovereign  of  the  Romanoff  dynasty, 
Alexis  was  devoted  to  the  practices  of  religion. 

'  Doctor  Collins,  an  Englishman,  who  was  physician  to  the  Tsar 
Alexis  for  nine  years,  says,  that  during  Lent  he  would  stand  in  church 
for  five  or  six  hours  at  a  time,  and  make  as  many  as  a  thousand  prostra- 
tions—on great  holidays  even  fifteen  hundred.'— Eugene  Schuyler. 

By  his  first  wife,  Marie  Ilinitchna  Miloslavski,  Alexis 
had  thirteen  children,  four  sons  and  nine  daughters  ;  by 
his  second  wife,  Natalia  Naryskin,  a  son  and  a  daughter. 
The  two  sons  of  his  first  marriage  who  lived  to  grow  up, 
Feodor  and  Ivan,  rest  opposite  to  him.  Of  these,  Feodor 
Alexievitch  (1676-1682),  who  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
ruled  under  the  guidance  of  Sophia,  one  of  his  sisters,  and 
became  chiefly  remarkable  as  the  founder  of  the  first 
Academy  in  Moscow  for  lectures  in  Greek  and  Latin,  philo- 
sophy and  theology.  Ivan,  who  suffered  from  epilepsy,  and 
was  rather  blind,  rather  lame,  and  half-idiotic,  was  afterwards 
nominally  united  with  his  healthy,  brilliant,  and  precocious 
half-brother  Peter  in  the  sovereignty,  but  remained  a  mere 
state  puppet ;  he  became,  however,  the  father,  by  Praskovia 
Soltikoff,  of  the  Empress  Anne.  Since  the  death  of  Ivan 
all  the  Russian  sovereigns  have  been  buried  at  S.  Peters- 
burg, except  Peter  II.  (1727-1730),  who  lies  here.  He  was 


250  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  son  of  Alexis  Petrovitch,  the  unfortunate  son  of  Peter 
the  Great  by  his  first  marriage,  was  born  in  1715,  and  suc- 
ceeded his  step-grandmother,  Catherine  I.,  in  1727.  When 
he  was  only  fifteen,  he  died  of  the  small-pox,  on  the  day 
which  had  been  appointed  for  his  marriage  with  Princess 
Catherine  Dolgorouki.1  His  last  words  were,  'Get  ready 
the  sledge;  I  want  to  go  to  my  sister'"  (Natalia,  who  had 
died  three  years  before).  In  this  prince  the  direct  male 
line  of  the  house  of  Romanoff  became  extinct,  and  the 
elder  period  of  Russian  history  came  to  an  end. 

One  of  the  most  striking  services  held  in  this  cathedral 
is  that  for  the  repose  of  the  Great  Princes  and  Tsars  who 
are  buried  here. 

'  I  saw  the  Metropolitan  Philaret  on  the  festival  of  the  beheading 
of  S.John  the  Baptist— the  day  of  the  funeral  services  of  the  dead 
tsars— celebrated  in  the  Cathedral  of  S.  Michael,  where  they  all  lie  in- 
terred. Philaret  and  his  clergy  were  there  in  deep  black  mourning,  and 
one  by  one  the  departed  sovereigns  were  named,  with  a  prayer  for  "  the 
pardon  of  their  sins,  voluntary  and  involuntary,  known  to  themselves  or 
unknown."  There  was  a  hope  left  even  for  Ivan  the  Terrible.  The 
Metropolitan  was  lifted  up  to  kiss  the  coffins  of  the  two  canonised 
princes — the  murdered  Demetrius,  and  Chernikoff,  the  champion  of 
Russia,  slain  in  the  Tartar  wars  :  a  striking  contrast  to  watch  the 
aged,  tottering  man  at  the  tomb  of  the  little  blooming  child- -the  gentle, 
peaceful  prelate  at  the  tomb  of  the  fierce,  blood-.stained  warrior.' — . 
Stanley,  '  Essays  on  Church  and  State. ' 

On  leaving  the  cathedials,  many  travellers  will  ascend 
the  great  Tower  of  Ivan  Veliki,  which  was  built  by  the 
usurper  Boris  Godunof  in  1600,  to  commemorate  the  de- 
liverance of  Russia  from  a  famine. 

1  Catherine  Dolgorouki,  torn  from  her  former  fiance,  was  betrothed  against  her 
will  to  Peter  II.  Upon  his  death  she  became  a  momentary  sovereign,  was  impri- 
soned through  the  reign  of  Anne,  released  by  EIi?abeth,  and  eventually  married 
Count  Bruce. 


TOWER   OF  IVAN   VELIKI.  251 

*  The  name  of  John  (Ivan)  is  a  symbolic  name  with  the  Russians, 
as  with  most  other  nations ;  it  denotes  nationality,  the  people's 
character,  their  chief  tendencies  and  inclinations,  and,  above  all,  the 
national  vogue  or  way.  As  in  German  the  "  Hanschen,"  the  "  Hans- 
wurst ;  "  in  French  the  "Jean  Potage  ;  "  in  English  "  John  Bull,"  so  is 
the  Russian  "  Ivan  Ivanovitch"  the  national,  good-natured,  phlegmatic, 
roguish  fool.  The  Russians  denominate  everybody  thus  whose  name 
they  do  not  know,  and  whom  they  wish  to  turn  into  ridicule  ;  even 
the  Tsar  Ivan  Vasilievitch  the  Terrible  is,  in  the  popular  tradition, 
altogether  good-natured,  completely  resembling  the  "bon  roi  Dago- 
bert  "  of  the  French  popular  song.  He  says  to  his  head  attendant,  his 
chief  chamberlain,  who,  like  a  good  Russian,  is  lolling  upon  the  stove, 
41  Ivan  Ivanovitch,  come  down,  and  pull  my  boots  off!"  Ivan  Ivano- 
vitch, however,  has  no  inclination  to  do  so,  but  lies  still,  merely  raising 
his  left  leg  like  a  post  in  the  air,  and  slapping  with  his  hand  upon  the 
stove,  says  — "  Stove,  I  order  you,  carry  me  to  the  Tsar  !  " 

'  "  Tsar.   But,  Ivan  Ivanovitch,  the  stove  does  not  obey  you." 

'  "  Ivan.  That  is  unfortunate,  O  Tsar,  then  come  to  me,"  &c. 

'  An  isvoshtnik,  on  seeing  for  the  first  time  the  train  with  the 
locomotive  on  the  railway  from  Tsarskoe  Selo,  exclaimed,  "Look, 
look,  there  is  an  Ivan  Ivanovitch  riding  on  his  stove  to  the  Tsar  ! " 
Everybody  who  looks  awkward  and  stupid,  and  also  every  isvoshtnik, 
is  called  "  Ivan,"  or,  with  the  diminutive,  "  Vanka.  "—Haxthansen, 
'  The  Russian  Empire  S 

Though  this  is  the  finest  belfry  in  Russia,  it  has  no 
special  beauty,  but  being  269  feet  high,  towers  finely  above 
all  the  other  buildings  of  the  Kremlin  in  the  distant  views 
Halfway  up  is  a  gallery,  whence  the  sovereigns  from  Boris 
to  Peter  the  Great  used  to  harangue  the  people.  The 
exquisite  bells  are  only  heard  in  perfection  on  Easter  Eve 
at  midnight.  On  the  preceding  Sunday  (Palm  Sunday)  the 
people  have  resorted  in  crowds  to  the  Kremlin  to  buy  palm 
branches— artificial  flowers  and  boughs  with  waxen  fruits— 
to  hang  before  their  icons.  On  Holy  Thursday  the  Metro- 
politan has  washed  the  feet  of  twelve  men,  representing  the 
Apostles,  in  the  cathedral,  using  the  dialogue  recorded  in 


252  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

John  xii.1  Then  at  midnight  on  Easter  Eve  the  great  bell 
sounds,  followed  by  every  other  bell  in  Moscow  ;  the  whole 
city  blazes  into  light ;  the  tower  of  Ivan  Veliki  is  illuminated 
from  its  foundation  to  the  cross  on  its  summit.  The  square 
below  is  filled  with  a  motley  throng,  and  around  the  churches 
are  piles  of  Easter  cakes,  each  with  a  taper  stuck  in  it, 
waiting  for  a  blessing.  The  interior  of  the  church  of  the 
Rest  of  the  Virgin  is  thronged  by  a  vast  multitude  bearing 
wax  tapers.  The  Metropolitan  and  his  clergy,  in  robes 
blazing  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  have  made  the  ex- 
ternal circuit  of  the  church  three  times,  and  then,  through 
the  great  doors,  have  advanced  towards  the  throne  between 
myriads  of  lights.  No  words  can  describe  the  colour,  the 
blaze,  the  roar  of  the  universal  chant.  Descending  from 
the  throne,  the  Metropolitan  has  incensed  the  clergy  and 
the  people,  and  the  clergy  have  incensed  the  Metropolitan, 
whilst  the  spectators  have  bowed  and  crossed  themselves 
incessantly.  After  a  service  of  two  hours,  the  Metropolitan 
has  advanced,  holding  a  cross  which  the  people  have 
thronged  to  kiss.  He  has  then  retired  to  the  sanctuary, 
whence,  as  Ivan  Veliki  begins  to  toll,  followed  by  a  peal 
from  a  thousand  bells  announcing  the  stroke  of  midnight, 
he  emerges  in  a  plain  purple  robe,  and  announces  *  Christos 
voscres  ! '  Christ  is  risen.  Then  kisses  of  love  are  univer- 
sally exchanged,  and,  most  remarkable  of  all,  the  Metro- 
politan, on  his  hands  and  knees,  crawls  round  the  church, 
kissing  the  icons  on  the  walls,  the  altars  and  the  tombs, 
and,  through  their  then  opened  sepulchres,  the  incor- 
ruptible bodies  of  the  saints.  After  this  no  meetings  take 

1  The  service  of  humility  and  brotherly  love,  called  the  Lavipedium,  has  been 
ascribed  to  S.  Gregory  the  Great  in  the  sixth  century,  but  it  is  evident  from  AmbrosCj 
Augustine,  and  others,  that  it  existed  in  the  Church  long  before  his  time. 


TOWER   OF  IVAN   VELIKI.  253 

place    without   the    salutation    Christos    voscres,    and    the 
answer,  Vo  istine  voscres  (He  is  risen). 

Of  the  many  bells  in  the  tower  the  most  remarkable 
was  the  historic  bell  of  Novogorod,  which  summoned  the 
council  of  the  Vetche'  to  assemble,  and  which  was  carried 
off  to  Moscow  by  Ivan  the  Great  :  it  is  now  said  to  be  lost. 
The  square  at  the  foot  of  the  tower,  and  the  pavement  be- 
tween it  and  the  cathedral,  is  still  used  at  Easter  as  a  place 
of  assembly  for  religious  disputations. 

'  From  ancient  times  it  has  been  the  custom  in  Moscow  for  the 
people  to  assemble  in  large  numbers  every  morning  during  the  week 
after  Easter  in  the  Kremlin,  in  the  square  before  the  Uspenski  Sobor, 
to  hold  religious  disputations.  The  people  alone  are  present ;  neither 
the  clergy,  officials,  or  nobles  share  in  the  proceedings.  The  police  take 
no  notice  of  these  meetings,  and  are  never  seen  at  them  :  indeed,  their 
presence  is  quite  uncalled  for,  as  the  utmost  quiet  and  order  prevail, 
and  no  excesses  ever  occur ;  and  the  people  themselves  maintain  order, 
and  even  punish  any  word  spoken  too  loudly. 

On  one  side  assemble  the  followers  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  and 
opposite  to  them  the  Raskolniks  of  all  sects,  especially  the  Stanovertzi, 
of  every  different  shade.  Various  groups  are  formed,  in  each  of  which 
disputants  are  found,  who  defend  or  attack  some  religious  proposition. 
The  discussion  is  carried  on  with  the  greatest  courtesy  and  harmony  ; 
the  disputants  take  off  their  hats,  bow  low  to  their  opponents,  and  beg 
to  be  allowed  to  answer  their  positions  or  questions.  No  one  interrupts 
another  during  his  speech.  The  discussion  is,  at  the  same  time,  carried 
on  with  the  greatest  logical  acuteness  ;  if  one  stops  short,  or  can  go  no 
further,  another  of  those  standing  behind  steps  forward  to  assist  him, 
or  to  continue  the  discussion  himself.  If  anyone  grows  violent,  or 
exclaims  loudly,  or  even  only  says,  "That  is  false,"  his  friends  imme- 
diately caution  him,  saying,  "  Pashla  na  da  i  met"  (yes  and  no  prove 
nothing),  and  if  he  does  not  become  quiet,  they  draw  him  back  into 
the  crowd.' — Haxthausen^  '  The  Russian  Empire^ 

Behind  the  cathedral  rises  the  mass  of  the  Great  Palace, 
Bohhoi  Dvorets,  of  which  the  older  part,  Granovita'ia  Palata 


254  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

(the  Granite  Palace),  was  built  (probably  by  the  Italian 
Antonio)  for  Ivan  the  Great  The  rest  of  the  abode  of  the 
ancient  Grand-Princes  has  been  often  rebuilt  and  the 
modern  part  of  the  edifice  as  it  exists  now  only  dates  from 
the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  The  most  remarkable 
part  of  the  group,  on  the  side  facing  the  cathedral,  is  the 
many-domed  sacristy,  by  the  side  of  which  is  the  famous 
Red  Staircase,  leading  to  the  Hall  of  S.  Vladimir,  and  con- 
nected with  so  many  terrible  scenes  in  Russian  history.  ' 

'  The  dreadful  moment  that  his  own  conscience  and  innocent 
martyrs  had  long  predicted,  was  silently  approaching  for  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  although  the  prince  had  attained  no  great  age,  and  though  he 
preserved,  together  with  his  mental  powers,  all  the  violence  of  his 
passions.  He  enjoyed  robust  health,  and  believed  that  he  might  live 
many  years  longer,  but  what  constitution  can  resist  the  unbridled 
passions  which  agitate  the  dark  existence  of  a  tyrant  ?  The  continual 
frenzy  of  rage  and  fear,  remorse  without  repentance,  the  torments  of 
shame,  powerless  fury  at  defeat,  finally,  the  gnawing  worm  of  infanticide 
—  a  torment  which  anticipated  those  of  hell — had,  for  Ivan,  passed  the 
limit  of  human  endurance.  He  often  experienced  a  painful  faintness, 
which  seemed  to  prelude  dissolution,  but  he  contended  against  it,  and 
his  health  only  began  to  break  up  in  the  year  1584.  It  was  then  that  a 
comet  appeared,  of  which  the  tail  bore  the  form  of  a  cross.  Having 
come  out  upon  the  Red  Staircase  to  see  it,  the  Tsar  watched  it  for  a 
long  time,  and  said  to  those  who  were  near  him,  "  It  is  the  warning  of 
my  death  !  "  .  .  .  Soon  afterwards  Ivan  was  attacked  by  alarming 
illness.  His  entrails  began  to  putrify  and  his  body  swelled.' — Karam- 
sin. 

On  the  same  staircase,  when  the  false  Dmitri  had  gained 
possession  of  Moscow,  the  bodies  of  the  young  Tsar  Feodor 
Borisvitch  and  his  mother,  the  Tsaritsa  Maria,  widow  of 
Boris  Godunof  (murderer  of  the  true  Dmitri),  were  exposed 
to  the  people. 

'  The  young  Feodor,  with  his  mother  Marie  and  his  sister  Xenie, 
guarded  in  the  very  palace  whither  the  ambition  of  Boris  had  dragged 


THE  RED   STAIRCASE.  255 

them  as  the  theatre  of  a  fatal  grandeur,  had  a  presentiment  of  their 
fate.  The  people  still  respected  the  sanctity  of  sovereign  rank  in  their 
persons,  and  perhaps  that  of  innocence  ;  perhaps  even,  till  the  climax 
of  the  rebellion,  they  would  have  wished  that  Dmitri  should  show  mercy, 
and  that,  whilst  seizing  the  crown,  he  should  at  least  spare  life  to  these 
unhappy  ones,  were  it  only  in  the  solitude  of  some  isolated  cloister. 
But,  on  this  occasion,  clemency  did  not  enter  into  the  policy  of  the 
false  Dmitri.  The  more  the  legitimate  Tsar,  whom  he  had  just  de- 
throned, displayed  of  personal  qualities,  the  more  he  appeared  danger- 
ous to  a  usurper,  who  had  reached  the  throne  by  the  crime  of  a  few,  and 
the  errors  of  many.  The  triumph  of  one  treason  always  paves  the  way 
for  another,  and  no  solitude  would  have  concealed  the  young  sovereign 
from  the  pity  of  the  Russians.  Such  was  without  doubt  the  opinion  of 
Basanoff,  but  he  would  not  openly  participate  in  a  horrible  crime. 
Others  were  bolder  :  the  princes  Galitzin  and  Massalsky,  the  dignita- 
ries Moltchanoff  and  Scherefedinoff,  having  taken  three  fierce  strelitz 
with  them,  went  on  the  tenth  of  June  (1605)  to  the  house  of  Boris, 
where  they  found  Feodor  and  Xenie,  quietly  awaiting  the  will  of  God 
by  the  side  of  their  mother.  They  snatched  these  tender  children  from 
the  arms  of  the  Tsaritsa,  made  them  enter  separate  rooms,  and  bade 
the  strelitz  do  their  work.  These  at  once  strangled  the  Tsaritsa  Marie, 
but  the  young  Feodor,  endowed  with  extraordinary  strength  by  nature, 
contended  for  a  long  time  with  four  assassins,  who  with  difficulty 
succeeded  in  suffocating  him  at  last.  Xenie  was  more  unfortunate  than 
her  brother  and  mother  :  they  left  her  her  life.  The  usurper  had 
heard  of  her  charms  ;  he  ordered  Prince  Massalsky  to  remove  her  to 
his  house.  '  It  was  announced  in  Moscow  that  Marie  and  her  son  had 
poisoned  themselves.  But  their  bodies,  savagely  exposed  to  insult  and 
outrage,  bore  the  certain  evidence  of  their  violent  death.  The  people 
pressed  around  the  miserable  coffins  in  which  the  two  crowned  victims 
were  placed,  the  wife  and  son  of  the  ambitious  man  who  was  at  once 
their  adorer  and  destroyer,  giving  them  in  the  throne  a  heritage  of 
horror  and  the  most  cruel  of  deaths.  "  The  sacred  blood  of  Dmitri,"  say 
the  annalists,  "  demanded  pure  blood  in  expiation  :  and  the  innocent  fell 
for  the  guilty.  Let  the  wicked  tremble  for  their  dear  ones  :  the  moment 
of  vengeance  and  reprisals  must  come  sooner  or  later."  ' — Karamsin. ' 

'  The  young  Tsar  and  his    unhappy   mother   were   smothered  by 
murderers   like    those  who  had  been  employed  to  make   away   with 

1  This  story  is  the  subject  of  the  last  act  of  Pouchkine's  famous  drama,  I'orh 
Godunof.  For  the  story  of  Boris  Godunof  see  also  the  tragedy  of  the  Tsar  Boris, 
by  Count  Alexis  Tolstoi.  i86q. 


256  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Dmitri ;  for  the  Lord  sometimes  visits  the  sins  of  the  father  on  the 
children. ' — Mouravieff. 

In  accordance  with  an  old  Russian  proverb — 

Koli  khud  knyaz 
Tak  y  gryaz — 

'  If  the  prince  is  bad,  into  the  mud  with  him  ' — it  was  down 
this  staircase  also  that  the  body  of  Gregori  Otrepieff,  the 
false  Dmitri,  was  thrown  to  the  fury  of  the  people,  when  he 
had  been  denounced  as  a  usurper  by  the  Tsaritsa  Marpha 
(who  had  previously  been  forced  to  acknowledge  him  as  the 
son  whom  she  had  seen  murdered  at  Uglitch). 

'  It  is  asserted  that  when  the  usurper  was  asked,  "Who  are  you, 
wicked  one?"  he  still  answered,  "You  know  it.  I  am  Dmitri,"  and 
he  referred  to  the  religious  Tsaritsa.  Prince  Ivan  Galitzin  replied  to 
him  :  "  Her  testimony  is  already  known  to  us  ;  she  gives  you  up  to 
death."  The  false  Dmitri  answered,  "  Take  me  to  the  great  square, 
there  I  will  confess  the  truth  in  the  presence  of  all."  But  at  this 
moment  the  impatient  people,  bursting  open  the  door,  demanded  if 
the  criminal  confessed  ;  they  were  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  two 
shots  from  a  pistol  terminated  at  once  the  enquiry  and  the  life  of 
Otrepieff.  The  crowd  fell  upon  the  body,  hacked  it,  pierced  it  with  their 
lances,  and  hurled  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  staircase  upon  the  body  of  his 
adherent  Basanoff,  crying,  "You  were  friends  in  this  world,  be  equally 
inseparable  in  hell."  The  enraged  populace  then  tore  the  corpses  from 
the  Kremlin,  and  dragged  them  to  the  place  of  execution  :  the  body  of 
the  impostor  was  placed  upon  a  table,  with  a  mask,  a  flute,  and  a  bag- 
pipe, viz. ,  as  signs  of  his  taste  for  sensuous  pleasures  and  for  music  ; 
and  that  of  Basanoff  upon  a  stool,  at  the  feet  of  the  false  Dmitri.' — 
Karamsin. 

The  Red  Staircase  witnessed  an  almost  more  terrible 
scene  during  the  disturbances  which  followed  the  death  of 
Feodor  Alexievitch  in  1682.  The  power  had  been  disputed 
by  the  factions  who  represented  the  two  wives  of  the 


THE  RED   Sl^AIRCASE.  257 

Emperor  Alexis,  Maria  Miloslavski,  mother  cf  Feodor  and 
Ivan,  and  Natalia  Naryskin,  mother  of  Peter  (the  Great). 
From  the  depths  of  the  *  terem,'  the  intriguing  Tsarevna 
Sophia  gave  her  important  support  to  the  former,  and  by 
circulating  a  report  that  her  brother  Ivan  had  been  strangled 
by  the  Naryskins,  roused  the  people  of  Moscow  and  caused 
the  tocsin  to  be  sounded  from  four  hundred  churches  of 
the  holy  city.  Upon  this,  the  streltsi,  followed  by  an  immense 
multitude,  marched  upon  the  Kremlin.  On  the  Red  Stair- 
case Natalia  showed  herself  with  the  two  children,  Ivan  and 
Peter,  and  the  Miloslavski  would  have  failed  in  their  plans, 
if  Prince  Dolgorouki  from  the  windows  of  the  palace 
had  not  burst  into  the  most  violent  abuse  of  the  Streltsi. 
This  reawakened  their  fury.  They  threw  themselves  upon 
Dolgorouki  and  hurled  him  down  the  staircase  to  be  caught 
upon  the  pikes  of  the  soldiers.  Under  the  eyes  of  the 
Tsaritsa,  they  murdered  her  adopted  father  Matveef,  the 
minister  of  Alexis,  and  then  rushed  through  the  palace,  ex- 
terminating all  that  fell  into  their  hands.  A  brother  of  the 
Tsaritsa,  Athanase  Naryskin,  was  thrown  from  the  window 
upon  the  points  of  the  lances.  Upon  the  following  day,  the 
scene  recommenced.  Her  father  Cyril,  and  her  brother 
Ivan,  were  torn  from  the  arms  of  the  Tsaritsa,  the  one  to 
be  tortured  and  cut  to  pieces  ;  the  other  to  be  cruelly  mal- 
treated, shaven,  and  sent  into  a  monastery.1  Finally,  seven 
years  after,  in  1689,  it  was  from  the  top  of  the  Red  Stair- 
case that  Peter  the  Great,  clad  in  his  robes  of  state,  showed 
himself  to  the  people  as  their  lawful  ruler,  after  the  im- 
prisonment of  Sophia.2 

1  See  Rambaud,  Hist,  de  la  Rnssie. 

-  See  Schuyler's  Life  of  Peter  the  Great. 


258  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

On  this  side  of  the  palace  was  the  place  where  the 
sovereigns  used  to  sit  to  receive  the  petitions  of  the  people. 
The  petition  was  placed  on  a  certain  stone  in  the  court 
below,  where  the  Tsar  could  see  it,  and  if  he  thought  proper, 
he  sent  for  it.  The  Sacristy,  once  of  the  Patriarchs — Patriar- 
shaya  Riznitsa — now  of  the  Holy  Synod,  contains  a  vast 
number  of  precious  robes  and  jewels  which  belonged  to 
the  Patriarchs,  the  most  interesting  being  the  Saccos  of 
the  Metropolitan  S.  Peter  (1308-1325),  a  robe  sent  by  the 
Emperor  of  Constantinople  to  the  Patriarch  Joseph,  1642, 
upon  which  the  Nicene  Creed  is  embroidered  in  pearls,  and 
some  of  the  mitres  and  robes  of  Nikon.  In  an  adjoining 
room  the  holy  chrism  or  mir  is  prepared,  with  which  every 
orthodox  Russian  is  anointed  at  baptism,  all  sovereigns  at 
coronation,  and  all  churches  at  consecration.  This  holy 
ointment  (probably  taken  from  that  described  in  Exodus  xxx. 
for  the  anointing  of  the  priests  and  tabernacle)  can  only  be 
consecrated  by  a  bishop,  only  on  one  day  in  the  year- 
Holy  Thursday  in  Passion  week — and  only  in  two  places, 
this  sacristy  for  great  Russia,  and  Kieff  for  little  Russia, 
from  which  point  it  is  distributed  to  the  several  churches 
in  each  country.  The  ointment  is  a  mixture  of  roses,  oil  of 
lavender,  marjoram,  oranges,  rosemary,  balsam  of  Peru,  cedar, 
mastic,  turpentine,  and  white  wine. 

'  The  chrism  is  a  mystery  peculiar  to  the  Greek  Church.  It  is  called 
the  seal  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  immediately  follows  the  im- 
mersion at  baptism,  when  the  priest  anoints  the  person  baptised  on 
the  principal  parts  of  the  body  with  an  ointment,  consecrated  with 
many  curious  circumstances  for  that  purpose  by  a  bishop.  This  cere- 
mony is  always  used  at  the  reception  of  a  proselyte  from  any  other 
church  whatever.  The  Scriptures  on  which  this  mystery  is  said  to  be 
founded  are  Acts  viii.  Peter  and  John  "  when  they  were  come  down 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  PATRIARCHS.  259 

(i.e.  to  the  Samaritans,  who  had  been  baptised  by  Philip),  prayed  for 
them  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  as  yet  he  was  fallen 
upon  none  of  them,  only  they  were  baptised  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus."  And  also  I  John  i.  27,  Isaiah  Ixi.  6,  2  Cor.  i.  21,  22,  Gal. 
iii.  S 


In  the  Library  of  the  Patriarchs  is  preserved  the  famous 
copy  of  the  Evangelists  brought  by  Nikon  from  Mount 
Athos,  and  many  other  historic  books. 

'  Des  vengeances  du  Terrible  nous  est  reste  un  tres-curieux  monu- 
ment :  c'est  le  synodique  du  monastere  de  Saint-Cyrille,  dans  lequel  il 
demande  nominativement  pour  chacune  de  ses  victimes  les  prieres  de 
1'Eglise.  Cette  liste  donne  un  total  de  3,470  victimes,  dont  986  noms 
propres.  Plusieurs  des  noms  sont  suivis  de  cette  mention  sinistre  : 
"  avec  sa  femme,"  "  avec  sa  femme  et  ses  enfants,"  "avec  ses  filles," 
"  avec  ses  fils."  C'est  ce  que  Kourbski  appelait  "  des  exterminations  par 
families  entieres,"  usiorodno.  La  constitution  de  la  famille  russe  etait 
si  forte  a  cette  epoque  que  la  mort  du  chef  devait  fatalement  entrainer 
celle  de  tous  les  siens.  D'autres  indications  collectives  ne  donnent  pas 
moins  a  penser.  Par  exemple  :  "  Kazarine  Doubrovski  et  ses  deux  fils, 
plus  dix  hommes  qui  etaient  venusason  secours,"  —  "  vingt  hommes  du 
village  de  Kolomenskoe,"  "  quatre-vingts  de  Matveiche  :  "  c'etaient  sans 
cloute  des  paysans  ou  les  enfants-boiars  qui  avaient  voulu  defendre  leurs 
seigneurs.  Voici  la  mention  relative  a  Novogorod  :  "  Souviens-toi, 
Seigneur,  des  ames  de  tes  serviteurs,  au  nombre  de  1,505  personnes, 
Novogorodiens.  "  Louis  XL  n'avait-il  pas  des  tendresses  de  ce  genre? 
il  priait  avec  ierveur  pour  1'ame  de  son  frere,  le  due  de  Berry.'  —  Ram-. 
baud,  '  Hist,  de  la  Rtissie.  ' 

Strangers  enter  the  main  building  of  the  palace  at  the 
entrance  opposite  the  terrace  towards  the  town.  The  mag- 
nificent Hall  of  S.  George,  the  Alexander  Hall,  and  the 
Hall  of  S.  Andrew  are  the  chief  features  of  the  modern 
building.  The  Chapel  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Virgin  is  that 
of  the  ancient  Grand-  Princesses.  From  a  gallery,  into 
which  the  dismal  rooms  of  the  ladies-in-waiting  open,  the 

S  2 


26o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

visitor  enters  the  Golden  Hall  or  Zolotaya  Palata,  said  to 
have  been  built  by  the  Patriarch  Jonah  in  1451. 

Here  it  was  that  the  Patriarch  Jeremiah  of  Constanti- 
nople (1587)  had  his  minutely  described  interviews  with 
the  Tsar  Feodor,  son  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

'  In  the  beautiful  corner  of  the  Golden  Hall  of  the  Sign  Manual,  on 
a  magnificent  throne,  was  seated  the  religious  sovereign  himself,  with 
his  crown  on  his  head,  clad  in  royal  robes,  and  holding  a  richly  'carved 
sceptre  in  his  hand,  a  golden  orb,  figurative  of  the  universe,  lying  by  his 
.side.  Around  him  stood  his  boyai-s,  the  lords  of  the  presence-chamber, 
and  the  courtiers,  in  robes  covered  with  gold.' 

It  was  probably  also  here,  as  being  the  Audience 
Chamber  of  the  Tsaritsa,  that  Ivan  and  Peter  the  Great 
gave  their  audiences  as  children. 

'  We  got  off  our  horses,  and,  handing  our  swords  to  a  servant, 
walked  up  some  steps  and  passed  through  a  building  magnificent  with 
gilded  vaults,  and  then  through  an  open  stone  passage,  again  to  the 
left,  and  through  an  ante-room  to  the  audience  hall,  the  floor  of  which 
was  covered  with  Turkish  carpets,  where  we  came  to  the  "piercing 
eyes  "  of  their  Tsarish  majesties.  Both  their  majesties  sat,  not  in  the 
middle,  but  somewhat  to  the  right  side  of  the  hall,  next  to  the  middle 
column,  and  sat  on  a  silver  throne  like  a  bishop's  chair,  somewhat 
raised  and  covered  with  red  cloth,  as  was  most  of  the  hall.  Over  the 
throne  hung  a  holy  picture.  The  Tsars  wore,  over  their  coats,  robes 
of  silver  cloth  woven  with  red  and  white  flowers,  and,  instead  of 
sceptres,  had  long  golden  staves  bent  at  the  end  like  bishops'  croziers,  on 
which,  as  on  the  breastplate  of  their  robes,  their  breasts  and  their  caps, 
glittered  white,  green,  and  other  precious  stones.  The  elder  dre"w  his 
cap  down  over  his  eyes  several  times,  and,  with  looks  cast  down  on  the 
floor,  sat  almost  immovable.  The  younger  had  a  frank  and  open  face, 
and  his  young  blood  rose  to  his  cheeks  as  often  as  anyone  spoke  to  him. 
He  constantly  looked  about,  and  his  great  beauty  and  his  lively  manner 
— which  sometimes  brought  the  Moscovite  magnates  into  confusion — 
struck  all  of  us  so  much  that,  had  he  been  an  ordinary  youth  and  no 
imperial  personage,  we  would  gladly  have  laughed  and  talked  with 
him.  The  elder  was  seventeen,  the  younger  sixteen  years  old.  When 


THE  PALACE.  261 

the  Swedish  envoy  gave  his  letter  of  credence,  both  Tsars  rose  from 
their  places,  slightly  bared  their  heads,  and  asked  after  the  king's 
health,  but  Ivan,  the  elder,  somewhat  hindered  'the  proceedings  through 
not  understanding  what  was  going  on,  and  gave  his  hand  to  be  kissed 
at  a  wrong  time.  Peter  was  so  eager  that  he  did  not  give  the  secretaries 
the  usual  time  for  raising  him  and  his  brother  from  their  seats  and 
touching  their  heads  ;  he  jumped  up  at  once,  put  his  own  hand  to  his 
hat,  and  began  quickly  to  ask  the  usual  question  :  "Is  his  Royal 
Majesty,  Carolus  of  Sweden,  in  good  health  ? "  He  had  to  be  pulled 
back  until  his  elder  brother  had  a  chance  of  speaking.' — MS.  Diary  of 
Engelbert  Kdmpfen,  July^  1683.' 

A  curious  relic  of  the  self-association  in  the  government 
of  the  Tsarevna  Sophia  with  her  brothers  may  be  seen  in 
a  piece  of  plate  in  the  neighbouring  chapel  of  S.  Catherine, 
made  'by  order  of  Ivan,  Peter,  and  Sophia,  aristocrats  of  all 
the  Russias.'  This  is  one  of  a  very  interesting  group  of 
chapels,  of  which  the  most  remarkable  is  that  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion, built  by  the  Tsar  Alexis,  and  containing  his  oratory. 

On  the  side  towards  the  cathedral,  the  window  is  still 
shown  where  Alexis  Michailovitch  sate  to  receive  petitions, 
and  also  the  window  whence  young  Athanase  Naryskin,  uncle 
of  Peter  the  Great,  was  thrown  down  upon  the  pikes  of  the 
streltsi.  From  the  windows  of  the  palace  on  the  other 
side,  we  look  into  an  inner  court,  which  contains  the  Church 
of  the  Saviour  in  the  Wood — Spass  na  Bom — said  to  date 
from  the  twelfth  century  when  it  was  built  in  a  wood  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  Kremlin,  long  before  Moscow  was 
a  city.  It  contains  the  relics  of  S.  Stephen  of  Perm,  a  saint 
greatly  honoured  in  Russia. 

'  Great  Perm,  whither  the  hunters  of  Novogorod  went  for  their  furs, 
was  acquired  to  Russia  by  a  single  monk,  through  the  preaching  of  the 

1  Given  in  Schuyler's  Peter  the  Great. 


262  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

name  of  Christ.  S.  Stephen,  penetrated  with  apostolic  zeal,  felt 
pained  by  the  gross  heathenism  of  the  inhabitants  of  Perm  ;  and  having 
thoroughly  known  their  tongue  from  a  child,  he  invented  letters  for  it. 
He  went  alone  to  preach  Christ  in  the  deep  and  silent  woods  of  Perm, 
and  by  faith  overcame  all  the  opposition  of  the  heathen  priests.  He 
founded  their  first  church,  a  poor  and  humble  building  on  the  river 
Viuma,  whence  the  doctrine  of  salvation  was  gradually  diffused.  He 
was  himself  consecrated  Bishop  of  Perm  by  the  hand  of  the  Metropo- 
litan Pimen,  and,  after  many  years  of  labour,  died  in  Moscow,  where 
his  relics  are  still  preserved  in  the  Church  of  the  Saviour.' — Moura- 
vitff. 

In  the  Granitovitaya  Palata,  the  Banqueting  Hall, 
built  by  Ivan  the  Great,  was  used  for  audiences,  as  well  as 
for  banquets  by  his  successors. 

'  Les  murs  de  la  salle  etaient  tendus  de  magnifiques  tapisseries  ;  la 
vaisselle  d'or  et  d'argent,  aux  formes  fantastiques,  resplendissait  sur 
des  estrades  de  velours  :  le  Tsar,  couronne  en  tete,  sceptre  en  main, 
assis  sur  le  trone  de  Salomon,  dont  les  lions  mecaniques  faisaient  entendre 
des  rugissements,  entoure  de  ses  ryndis  en  longs  cafetans  blancs  et 
armes  de  la  grande  hache  d'argent,  de  ses  boi'ars  somptueusement 
vetus,  de  son  clerge  en  costume  severe,  recevait  des  lettres  de  creance.' 
Rainbaud,  '  Hist,  de  la  Russie. ' 

Vassili  Ivanovitch  gave  banquets  of  great  magnificence 
here,  sending  messes,  as  Joseph  did,  from  his  own  table  to 
his  most  favoured  guests,  when  they  rose  and  saluted  him. 
The  first  dish  always  consisted  of  roast  swans.1  In  the 
reign  of  his  successor,  Ivan  the  Terrible,  we  read — 

'  The  tables  were  covered  onely  with  salt  and  bread,  and  after  that 
we  had  sitten  a  while,  the  Emperour  sent  unto  every  one  of  us  a  piece 
of  bread,  which  were  given  and  delivered  unto  every  man  severally  by 
these  words  :  "  The  Emperour  and  Great  Duke  giveth  thee  bread 
this  day  ;  "  and  in  like  manner  three  or  four  times  before  the  dinner 
was  ended,  he  sent  to  every  man  drinke,  which  was  given  by  these 

1   Karamsin,  vii. 


THE  PALACE.  263 

words  :  "The  Emperor  and  Great  Duke  giveth  thee  to  drinke."  All 
the  tables  aforesayd  were  served  in  vessels  of  pure  and  fine  golde,  as 
well  basons  and  ewers,  platters,  dishes,  and  sawcers,  as  also  of  great 
pots,  with  an  innumerable  sorte  of  small  drinking  pottes  of  divers 
fashions,  whereof  a  great  number  were  set  with  stone.  As  for  costly 
meates  I  have  many  times  scene  better;  but  for  change  of  wines,  and 
divers  sorts  of  meads,  it  was  wonderfull ;  for  there  was  not  left  at  any 
time  so  much  void  roome  on  the  table,  that  one  cuppe  might  have  bin 
set,  and  as  far  as  I  could  perceive,  all  the  rest  were  in  like  manner 
served. 

'  In  the  dinner  time  there  came  in  sixe  singers,  which  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  chamber,  and  their  faces  towards  the  Emperour,  who  sang 
there  before  dinner  was  ended  three  severall  times,  whose  songs  or 
voyces  delighted  our  eares  little  or  nothing. 

'  The  Emperour  never  putteth  morsell  of  meate  in  his  mouth,  but  he 
first  blesseth  it  himselfe,  and  in  like  maner  as  often  as  he  dririketh  :  for 
after  his  maner  he  is  very  religious,  and  he  esteemeth  his  religious  men 
above  his  noble  men.' — Anthonie Jenkinson,  1557- 

We  have  also  a  description  of  a  reception  here  in  the 
time  of  Michael  Feodorovitch,  the  first  of  the  Romanoffs. 

'  The  Great  Duke's  chair  was  opposite  the  door,  against  the  wall, 
rais'd  from  the  floor  three  steps,  having  at  the  four  corners  pillars 
which  were  vermilion  gilt,  about  three  inches  about,  with  each  of 
them,  at  the  height  of  an  ell  and  a  half,  an  imperial  eagle  of  silver, 
near  which  the  canopy  or  upper  part  of  the  chair  rested  upon  the  same 
pillars  ;  besides  which  the  said  chair  had  at  the  four  corners  as  many 
little  turrets  of  the  same  stuff,  having  also,  at  the  ends,  eagles,  after  the 
same  manner. 

'  The  Great  Duke  sate  in  his  chair,  clad  in  a  long  coat,  embroidered 
with  perls,  and  beset  with  all  sorts  of  precious  stones.  He  had  above 
his  cap,  which  was  of  martins'-skins,  a  crown  of  gold,  beset  with  great 
diamonds,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  scepter  of  the  same  metall,  and  no 
less  rich,  and  so  weighty,  that  he  was  forc'd  to  relieve  one  hand  with 
the  other.  On  both  sides  of  his  majesty's  chair  stood  young  lords, 
very  handsome,  both  as  to  face  and  body,  clad  in  long  coats  of  white 
damaske,  with  caps  of  linxs'-skin,  and  white  buskins,  with  chains  of 
gold,  which,  crossing  upon  the  breast,  reach'd  down  to  their  hips. 
They  had  laid  over  their  shoulders  each  a  silver  ax,  whereunto  they 
p»t  their  hands,  as  if  they  had  been  going  to  give  their  stroke.  On 


264  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  right  side  of  the  chair,  upon  a  pyramid  of  silver,  carv'd  through, 
stood  the  imperial  apple,  of  massy  gold,  representing  the  world,  as  big 
as  a  cannon  bullet  of  48  pound  weight :  and  at  a  like  distance  on  the 
same  side,  a  basin  and  ewer  and  a  napkin,  to  wash  and  wipe  the  Great 
Duke's  hands,  after  the  ambassadors  and  those  of  their  retinue  have 
kissed  them.  The  principal  bo'iars  or  lords  of  the  court,  to  the  number 
of  fifty,  were  all  sat  upon  benches  by  the  wall-side,  on  one  side,  and 
opposite  to  the  Great  Duke,  very  richly  clad,  with  great  caps,  of  a  black 
fox  furr,  a  good  quarter  of  an  ell  high.  The  chancellor  stood  on  the 
right  hand,  some  five  paces  from  the  chair.' — '  Voyages  and  Travels  of 
the  Ambassadors  of  Frederick  i  Duke  of  Holstein,  1633-1639.' 


The  most  curious  part  of  the  whole  palace  is  the  TetemJ- 
the  residence  of  the  Tsaritsa  and  Tsarevnas,  almost  answer- 
ing to  an  oriental  harem.  It  is  built  in  four  stories,  each 
story  diminishing  in  size,  and  surrounded  by  a  balcony  sup- 
ported upon  the  walls  of  the  story  below  it.  A  curious  old 
stone  staircase,  of  most  oriental  character,  leads  to  the 
Terem.  Here  we  find  dining-room,  council  hall,  oratory, 
bedroom,  all  low  and  small,  with  vaulted  ceilings.  The 
rooms  are  all  painted  in  gay  barbaric  colours,  and  are  very 
curious.  The  furniture  is  not  really  ancient,  but  a  series  of 
exact  copies  of  what  was  here  originally.  The  old  furniture, 
being  considered  to  be  falling  into  decay,  was  copied,  and 
then  sold  without  mercy  ;  for  that  which  is  called  the  pre- 
servation of  antiquities  here  is  often  the  baptising  of  novelties 
with  ancient  names.2  Here  we  may  imagine  the  Tsars 


1  'The  word  terem  (plural  terema)  is  defined  by  Dahl,  in  its  antique  sense,  as 
"  a  raised,  lofty  habitation,  or  part  of  one— a  boyar's  castle— a  seigneur's  house— the 
dwelling-place  of  a  ruler  within  a  fortress,"  &c.  The  "  terem  of  the  women,"  some- 
times styled  "of  the  girls,"  used  to  comprise  the  part  of  a  seigneur's  house,  on  the 
upper  floor,  set  aside  for  the  female  members  of  his  family.  Dahl  compares  it  with 
the  Russian  tyurma,  a  prison,  and  the  German  Thurm.  But  it  seems  really  to  be 
derived  from  the  Greek  Te'pe/mi-or,  "anything  closely  shut  fast,  or  closely  covered,  a 
room,  a  chamber,"  £c.' — Ralston. 

-  See  Custine. 


THE    TEREM.  265 

amusing  themselves  with  the  oddities  of  their  dwarfs,  whilst 
the  ladies  were  listening  to  endless  'bilini.' l 

'  In  the  family  of  the  Tsar  the  seclusion  in  the  Terem,  or  women's 
apartments,  was  almost  complete.  This  was  in  part  due  to  a  super- 
stitious belief  in  witchcraft,  the  evil  eye,  and  charms  that  might  affect 
the  life,  health,  or  fertility  of  the  royal  race.  Neither  the  Tsaritsa  nor 
the  princesses  ever  appeared  openly  in  public  ;  they  never  went  out 
except  in  a  closed  litter  or  carriage ;  in  church  they  stood  behind  a 
veil — made,  it  is  true,  sometimes  of  gauze  ;  and  they  usually  timed 
their  visits  to  the  churches  and  monasteries  for  the  evening  or  early 
morning,  and  on  these  occasions  no  one  was  admitted  except  the  imme- 
diate attendants  of  the  court.  Von  Mayerberg,  imperial  ambassador  at 
Moscow  in  1663,  writes,  that  out  of  a  thousand  courtiers,  there  will 
hardly  be  found  one  that  can  boast  that  he  has  seen  the  Tsaritsa,  or 
any  of  the  sisters  or  daughters  of  the  Tsar.  Even  their  physicians  are 
not  allowed  to  see  them.  When  it  is  necessary  to  call  a  doctor  for  the 
Tsaritsa,  the  windows  are  all  darkened,  and  he  is  obliged  to  feel  her 
pulse  through  a  piece  of  gauze,  so  as  not  to  touch  her  bare  hand  ! 
Even  chance  encounters  were  severely  punished.  In  1674,  the  cham- 
berlains, Dashkof  and  Buterlin,  on  suddenly  turning  a  corner  in  one  of 
the  interior  courts  of  the  palace,  met  the  carriage  of  the  Tsaritsa 
Natalia,  who  was  going  to  prayers  at  a  convent.  Their  colleagues  sue 
ceeded  in  getting  out  of  the  way ;  Dashkof  and  Buterlin  were  arrested, 
examined,  and  deprived  of  their  offices,  but  as  the  encounter  was 
proved  to  be  purely  fortuitous  and  unavoidable,  they  were  in  a  few 
days  restored  to  their  rank.  Yet  this  was  during  the  reign  of  Alexis, 
who  was  far  less  strict  than  his  predecessors. 

'  The  household  of  the  Tsar  was  organised  like  that  of  any  great 
noble,  though  on  a  larger  scale.  Of  the  women's  part,  the  Tsaritsa 
was  nominally  the  head.  She  had  to  attend  to  her  own  wardrobe, 
which  took  no  little  time,  and  oversee  that  of  her  husband  and  her 
children,  and  had  under  her  direction  a  large  establishment  of  sewing 
women.  She  must  receive  petitions  and  attend  to  cases  of  charity.  She 
must  provide  husbands  and  dowries  for  the  many  young  girls  about 
her  Court,  and  then  keep  a  constant  look-out  for  their  interests  and 
those  of  their  families.  She  had,  too,  her  private  estates,  the  accounts 
of  which  she  audited,  and  the  revenues  of  which  she  collected  and 
expended.  What  little  time  was  left  from  household  cares  and  religious 

1  See  M.  Zabielin,  Domestic  Life  of  the  Tsars. 


266  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

duties  could  be  spent  in  talk,  in  listening  to  stories  and  songs,  in 
laughing  at  the  jests  of  the  Court  fools,  in  looking  on  at  the  amusements 
of  the  girls  in  the  play-hall,  or  in  embroidering  towels  and  napkins, 
robes  for  the  Tsar  and  princes,  and  altar-cloths  and  vestments  for  the 
Church. ' — Etigene  Schuyler. 

'  Lorsque  le  tsar  voulait  se  marier,  il  adressait  aux  gouverneurs  des 
villes  et  des  provinces  une  circulaire  qui  leur  enjoignait  d'envoyer  a 
Moscou  les  plus  belles  filles  de  1'empire,  celles  du  moins  qui  apparte- 
naient  a  la  noblesse.  Comme  Assuerus  dans  la  Bible,  comme  1'empereur 
Theophile  dans  les  chroniques  de  Byzance,  comme  Louis  le  Debonnaire 
dans  le  recit  de  FAstronome^  il  faisait  son  choix  entre  toutes  ces  beautes. 
Pour  Vassili  Ivanovitch  on  reunit  1,500  jeunes  filles  ;  apres  un  premier 
concours  500  furent  envoyees  a  Moscou  ;  le  grand  prince  fit  un  nouveau 
triage  de  300,  puis  de  200,  puis  de  100,  puis  de  10,  qui  furent  d'ailleurs 
examinees  par  des  medecins  et  des  sages-femmes.  La  plus  belle  de 
toutes,  et  la  plus  saine,  devenait  la  souveraine  ;  elle  prenait  un  nouveau 
nom,  en  signe  qu'elle  comme^ait  une  nouvelle  existence  ;  son  pere, 
devenu  beau-pere  du  tsar,  changeait  aussi  de  nom  ;  ses  parents  deve- 
naient  les  proches  du  prince,  constituaient  son  entourage,  s'emparaient  de 
toutes  les  charges  et  gouvernaient  les  Ktats  comme  la  maison  de  leur 
imperial  allie.  Les  ministres  et  les  entours  evinces  essayaient  en  secret 
de  reconquerir  le  pouvoir  en  faisant  perir  la  nouvelle  souveraine,  et 
n'hesitaient  pas  a  recourir  au  poison  et  a  la  magie.  Beaucoup  de  ces 
fiancees  imperiales  ne  survecurent  pas  a  leur  triomphe,  et,  attaquees  tout 
a  coup  de  maladies  mysterieuses,  moururent  avant  le  jour  du  couronne- 
ment.  Tous  les  successeurs  de  Vassili  Ivanovitch,  jusqu'a  Alexis 
Mikhailovitch  inclusivement,  instituerent  ces  concours  de  beaute  pour 
choisir  leurs  epouses.  C'etait  le  privilege  des  souverains  de  Moscou 
et  des  princes  de  leur  sang.' — Raniband^  '  Hist,  de  la  RussieS 

The  first  Tsaritsawho  rebelled  against  the  rigid  seclusion 
of  the  Terem  was  Natalia  Naryskm,  the  second  wife  of 
Alexis,  and  mother  of  Peter  the  Great.  In  the  house  of  her 
uncle,  the  minister  Matveef,  who  had  married  a  Scotchwoman, 
she  had  been  accustomed  to  see  her  aunt  take  a  part  in  the 
daily  life  and  conversation  of  men,  and  after  she  was  married 
to  the  Tsar  she  astonished  Moscow  by  going  about  with  the 
curtains  of  her  litter  undrawn,  allowing  her  face  to  be  seen 


THE    TEREM.  267 

and  she  acted  before  the  town  in  little  dramas  taken  from 
Scripture  history.  The  first  Tsarevna  to  emancipate  herself 
was  the  famous  Sophia,  then  aged  twenty-five,  one  of  the 
six  surviving  daughters  of  Alexis  Michailovitch  by  Maria 
Miloslavski.  The  Terem  was  entirely  abolished  by  Peter 
the  Great,  who  was  the  first  to  institute  assemblies  and  balls, 
where  men  and  women  met  and  even  danced  together. 

The  memory  of  Ivan  the  Terrible  is  the  chief  spectre 
wrhich  haunts  these  weird  apartments. 

'  Ivan  IV,  le  tyran  par  excellence,  fut  Fame  du  Kremlin.  Ce  n'est 
pas  qu'il  ait  bad  cette  forteresse,  mais  il  y  est  ne,  il  y  est  mort,  il  y 
revient,  son  esprit  y  demeure.'— M.  de  Custine. 

Many  of  the  plaintive  songs  still  popular  in  Russia  keep 
up  the  memory  of  the  Tsaritsas — two  of  his  seven  wives,  and 
the  two  wives  of  his  son,  deposed  by  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

'  All  is  sad  with  us  in  Moscow  :  sadly  sounds  the  great  bell.  The 
Tsar  is  angry  with  the  Tsaritsa  ;  he  sends  the  Tsaritsa  far  from  his 
sight  ;  far  away  to  the  town  of  Sousdal,  to  the  Pokrovski  monastery. 

'  And  the  Tsaritsa  walked  in  the  palace,  and  bewailed  her  fate. 
"  O  you,  palaces  of  stone,  palaces  of  white  stone,  palaces  of  purple  ! 
Can  it  be  true  that  I  shall  never  walk  here  again  ?  Shall  I  never  sit 
again  at  the  tables  of  cypress  wood  ?  Shall  I  never  taste  of  the  sugared 
food  ?  Shall  I  never  eat  of  the  black  swan  ?  Shall  1  never  hear 
again  the  sweet  voice  of  my  Tsar?" 

'  And  she  went  forth,  the  Tsaritsa  went  forth,  upon  the  staircase  ; 
she  cried  aloud,  cried  with  her  soft  voice,  '*  O  you,  my  little  squires, 
my  little  squires,  my  runners  on  foot,  prepare  the  chariot,  but  .  .  .  not 
too  quickly  ;  go  forth  from  Moscow,  but  ...  not  too  hastily;  for  it 
may  be  that  the  Tsar  will  soften,  it  may  be  that  he  will  bid  me  return." 
And  what  did  the  young  squires  answer?  "  O  you,  our  mother,  the 
Tsaritsa,  Matfa  Matfeevna,  possibly  the  Tsar  will  soften,  possibly  you 
will  return." 

'  But  the  hopes  of  the  Tsaritsa  were  illusive  :  slowly,  slowly,  her 
chariot  passed  out  of  Moscow  ;  and  from  the  gates  of  the  convent,  the 


268  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

abbess  and  her  nuns  advance  in  procession  to  receive  her.  They  take 
her  by  her  white  hands  and  lead  her  to  her  cell — "  not  for  an  hour, 
not  for  a  day,  but  for  her  whole  life." '  l 

From  one  of  the  terraces  of  the  Terem  you  enter  the 
chapel  of  '  Spassa  solotuyu  rishotkoyu — The  Redeemer  behind 
the  golden  Balustrade.  In  a  room  near  this  are  preserved  a 
number  of  loaves  presented  to  the  Emperor  on  his  various 
visits  to  Moscow  ;  for  when  in  the  Kremlin,  the  Emperor 
pleases  the  people  by  always  eating  kalatsch,  the  peculiar, 
circular,  light,  hollow  bread  of  the  place.  It  was  in  one 
of  these  rooms  that  Ivan  the  Terrible  died.2 

'  Surrounded  by  the  shades  of  murdered  men,  he  set  as  a  blood-red 
sun  in  mists.  The  Metropolitan  Dionysius,  in  accordance  with  his 
wish,  gave  him  the  tonsure  in  the  name  of  his  favourite  monastery  of 
Bielo-ozero,  and  so  from  the  terrible  Ivan  he  became  the  simple  monk 
Jonah,  and  as  such  gave  up  his  soul  to  the  heavenly  Judge  of  his 
dreadful  reign  on  earth.' — Mouravieff. 

In  these  rooms  also,  Jeremiah,  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, visited  Ivan's  daughter-in-law,  the  beautiful  Tsaritsa' 
Irene,  sister  of  Boris  Godunof. 

'  The  central  apartment  of  the  Tsaritsa,  which  was  a  rotunda,  shone 
with  the  purest  gold  ;  and  by  the  ingenious  disposition  of  the  architect, 
there  was  an  audible  echo  in  it  even  of  what  was  spoken  in  a  whisper. 
The  walls  were  adorned  with  the  costliest  mosaics,  which  pourtrayed 
the  acts  of  the  saints,  choirs  of  angels,  martyrs,  and  bishops ;  while 
above  the  magnificent  throne,  shone  through  a  blaze  of  jewels  a  large 
icon  of  the  most  holy  Immaculate  Virgin,  with  the  eternal  Child  in  her 
arms,  surrounded  by  choirs  of  saints,  crowned  with  gold  and  adorned 

1  Prince  Serebranny,  a  novel  of  Count  Alexis  Tolstoi,  translated  into  French  by 
Prince  Galitzin,  depicts  the  manners  and  the  terrors  of  the  court  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible. 

-  One  of  the  most  striking  dramas  ever  written  for  the  Russian  stage  is  The 
Death  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  of  Count  Alexis  Tolstoi'.  With  this  the  tragedies  of  the 
Tsar  Feodor  and  the  Tsar  Boris  form  a  trilogy. 


THE    TREASURY.  269 

with  pearls,  rubies,  and  sapphires.  The  floor  was  covered  with  cun- 
ningly wrought  carpets,  on  which  the  sport  of  hawking  was  represented 
to  the  life  ;  and  other  figures  of  birds  and  animals,  carved  in  precious 
metals,  glittered  on  all  sides  of  the  apartment.  In  the  centre  of  the 
arched  roof,  an  exquisitely  sculptured  lion  held  in  his  mouth  a  serpent 
twisted  into  a  ring,  from  which  golden  lamps  were  suspended. 

'  But  the  dress  of  the  Tsaritsa  exceeded  in  splendour  all  that  sur- 
rounded her.  Her  necklace,  bracelets,  and  collar  were  made  of  heavy, 
uniform  pearls,  and  her  robe,  trimmed  with  sables,  was  fastened  by  dark 
emeralds  and  brilliants  ;  whilst  her  crown,  which  was  priceless,  shone 
with  every  variety  of  precious  stone  :  twelve  battlements,  like  the  wall. of 
a  town,  surrounded  it,  in  memory  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  and  diamonds 
hung  down  from  it,  in  large  drops,  upon  the  pure  forehead  of  the 
Tsaritsa.  And  for  all  this,  the  angelic  beauty  of  that  forehead  itself 
eclipsed  the  splendour  of  her  royal  ornaments.  When  she  saw  the 
patriarchs,  the  Tsaritsa  arose  graciously  from  her  throne,  and  met  them 
in  the  middle  of  the  hall,  and  humbly  asked  their  blessing.  .  .  .  After 
this  she  retired  a  few  steps,  and  stood  nearly  in  her  own  royal  place, 
having  the  pious  Tsar  on  her  right  hand,  and  on  her  left  her  brother, 
the  boyar,  with  his  head  uncovered,  while  a  little  behind  her  stood  in 
order  the  wives  of  the  princes,  each  according  to  her  rank,  attired  in 
white,  with  their  hands  crossed  upon  their  breasts,  and  their  faces 
inclined  to  the  ground.  At  a  sign  from  the  Tsar  they  all,  one  after  the 
other,  reverently  advanced  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  most  holy 
patriarchs ;  while  the  orthodox  Tsaritsa,  having  received  from  the 
hands  of  her  first  lady  a  precious  golden  chalice,  studded  with  six 
thousand  seed  pearls  and  other  precious  stones,  presented  it  with  her 
own  hand  to  the  patriarch  ;  and  then  sat  down  herself,  and  desired  him 
also  to  be  seated.' 


The  right  wing  of  the  Palace  is  occupied  by  the  Treasury 
— Orujeinaya  Palata— supposed  to  be  freely  shown  to 
travellers,  but  of  which  importunate  officials  only  allow  them 
the  most  hurried  glimpse.  It  seems  always  to  have  been 
thus,  and  complaints  of  the  way  in  which  visitors  are  hurried 
will  be  found  in  *  Clarke's  Travels,'  and  also  in  the  '  Voyage 
de  deux  Francois.'  Yet  nothing  in  Russia  is  more  worth 
seeing  in  detail,  for  the  treasure  of  the  Kremlin  is  the 


270  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

chronicle  of  its  country,  as  much   a   history  in    precious 
stones  as  the  Roman  forum  is  in  stones  of  building. 

Ascending  the  staircase  we  pass  through  several  rooms 
containing  specimens  of  ancient  armour,  and  see  how  in 
later  times  the  bows  of  the  streltsi  were  changed  to  match- 
locks by  Ivan  II.,  and  to  muskets  by  Alexis,  and  (in  the 
second  room)  the  standard  of  Ivan  the  Terrible.  One  room 
is  hung  with  Romanoff  portraits,  which  include  a  picture  of 
Catherine  II.  represented  as  a  good-looking  young  man  in  a 
blue  coat,  tight  breeches,  and  a  cocked  hat,  on  horseback. 
Here  are  several  of  the  later  coronation  chairs.  A  room, 
to  the  right  of  this,  contains  the  most  precious  relics  of  the 
collection,  the  throne  of  Poland  taken  from  Warsaw  in  1833  ; 
the  Eastern  ivory  throne  of  Sophia  Paleologus,  which  she 
brought  with  her  in  1473  on  ^er  marriage  with  Ivan  the 
Great  ;  and  a  gorgeous  jewelled  throne  brought  from  Persia 
in  1660,  and  used  by  Alexis.  Here  also  is  the  famous  orb, 
said  to  have  been  sent  to  S.  Vladimir  with  other  treasures 
by  the  Greek  Emperors  Basil  and  Constantine. 

The  next  room  is  surrounded  by  a  kind  of  wardrobe  of 
coronation  robes,  including  that  robe  of  Catherine  II.  which 
was  so  heavy  with  gold  and  jewels  that  it  needed  twelve 
chamberlains  to  support  it.  Here  we  see  a  succession  of 
crowns  upon  pedestals  standing  before  the  empty  thrones 
of  those  who  wore  them,  and  the  crown  falsely  attributed 
to  Vladimir  Monomachus,  still  used  in  coronations.  The 
crowns  of  Kazan,  Astrakan,  Georgia,  Siberia,  and  Poland, 
are  all  covered  with  jewels,  some  of  them  the  largest,  almost 
the  most  precious  in  the  world — '  crowns  upon  crowns, 
sceptres  upon  sceptres,  rivers  of  diamonds,  oceans  of  pearls.' 
The  crown  of  the  Crimea  is  the  simplest— a  golden  circlet. 


THE    TREASURY.  271 

How  insignificant  all  other  treasuries  seem  compared  with 
this  ! 

'  Les  couronnes  de  Pierre  I,  de  Catherine  I,  et  d'Elisabeth  m'ont 
surtout  frappe  :  que  d'or,  de  diamants  .  .  .  et  de  poussiere  ! ' — M.  de 
Cits  tine. 

The  more  ancient  collections  are  described  on  the  visit 
of  Chancellor  in  1555.  He  saw  the  *  goodly  gownes,'  two 
of  them  *  as  heavie  as  a  man  could  easily  carrie,  all  set  with 
pearles  over  and  over,  and  the  borders  garnished  with 
sapphires  and  other  good  stones  abundantly.'  It  used  to 
be  the  custom  to  dress  up  tradesmen  and  others  in  these 
robes  of  the  treasury  to  add  to  the  effect  on  days  of  high 
ceremonial. 

'  We  entred  sundry  roomes,  furnished  in  shew  with  ancient  grave 
personages,  all  in  long  garments  of  sundry  colours  :  golde,  tissue, 
baldekin,  and  violet,  as  our  vestments  and  copes  have  bene  in  England, 
sutable  with  caps,  jewels,  and  chaines.  These  were  found  to  be  no 
courtiers,  but  ancient  Moscovites,  inhabitants,  and  other  their  mer- 
chants of  credite,  as  the  maner  is,  furnished  thus  from  the  wardrobe 
and  treasurie,  waiting  and  wearing  this  apparell  for  the  time,  and  so  to 
restore  it.'  —  Henry  Lane  to  Sanderson,  1555.  Hakluyt,  '  Voyages,"1  i. 

The  double  throne  which  is  shown  was  made  for  the 
twofold  coronation  of  Ivan  and  Peter,  and  has  the  aper- 
ture behind  through  which  his  sister  Sophia  was  able  to 
prompt  her  feeble-minded  brother. 

'  Ce  meuble  singulier  est  le  symbole  de  ce  gouvernement  inouT  en 
Russie,  compose  de  deux  tsars  visibles  et  d'une  souveraine  invisible.'— 
Rambaud. 

The  last  and  largest  of  the  upper  rooms  contains  an 
immense  collection  of  ancient  gold  and  silver  plate,  cups  of 


272  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

jewels  and  precious  stones,  and  priceless  embroideries  and 
caparisons  of  horses.  Historical  relics  here  are  the  wrought, 
helmet  of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi  ;  the  comb,  ivory  sticks, 
and  ivory  cup  of  Marina,  wife  of  the  false  Dmitri;  and  a 
copy  of  the  laws  of  Alexis  Michaelovitch,  begun  in  1648 
and  written  on  rolls. 

A  great  deal  of  handsome  English  plate  was  presented 
by  James  I.,  Charles  I.,  and  Charles  II.  We  see  the  plate 
used  to  reward  public  service — a  cup  with  a  cover  and  the 
spread  eagle,  which  was  given  to  persons  of  the  highest 
rank  ;  a  simple  cup  to  the  next ;  and  a  coin  of  gold,  with 
a  hole  drilled  through  it,  for  military  service.  In  the  collec- 
tion of  coins,  we  see  that  the  older  coins  were  not  struck, 
but  punched  on  the  reverse,  and  two  pieces  of  silver  joined 
together,  so  as  to  seem  a  fresh  coin.  The  coins  which  show 
Sophia  on  one  side  and  her  two  brothers  on  the  other,  are 
a  curious  testimony  to  her  ambition. 

On  returning  downstairs  we  see  in  the  first  room  an 
extraordinary  model  of  the  Kremlin,  as  Catherine  II.  pro- 
posed to  reconstruct  it.  The  model  cost  50,000  roubles. 
It  was  made  by  Andrew  Wetmann,  a  German,  after  a 
design  of  the  architect  Bajarof,  pupil  of  Vailly. l 

A  room  filled  with  Polish  portraits  carried  off  from 
Warsaw,  leads  to  a  third  room  which  is  filled  with  ancient 
court-carriages.  The  most  interesting  are  the  magnificent 
chariot  sent  by  Elizabeth  of  England  to  Boris  Godunof; 
the  little  coach  of  Peter  the  Great  as  a  child,  with  windows 
of  mica  ;  the  huge  state  coach  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth, 
and  her  still  larger  traveling  carriage  on  runners,  lined 
with  green  baize  and  fitted  up  with  table  and  benches. 

1   I  Toyage  de  deux  Franfais. 


THE  ASCENSION  CONVENT.  273 

Here  also  is  the  camp  bed  of  Napoleon  taken  in  the  flight 
from  Moscow,  when  his  private  papers  were  found  in  the 
pocket  of  the  pillow-case. 


We  must  now  visit  the  Ascension  Convent — Voscresenski 
Devitchi— which  stands  back  in  a  garden  court  between  the 
cathedral  and  the  Redeemer's  Gate.  It  was  founded  in 
1389  by  Eudoxia,  wife  of  Dmitri  of  the  Don. 

'  The  devotion  of  Eudoxia  and  her  love  of  church-building  cause 
her  to  be  compared  with  Mary,  wife  of  Vsevolod  the  Great,  grandson 
of  Monomachus.  It  is  she  who  founded,  in  the  Kremlin,  the  monastery 
of  the  Ascension,  for  women  ;  the  Church  of  the  Nativity  of  Our  Lady, 
and  other  temples  decorated  and  painted  by  the  Greek  Theophanes  and 
Simeon  the  Black.  This  pious  princess  cherished  virtue  as  much  as  she 
abhorred  the  pretence  of  it.  In  order  to  conceal,  under  an  appearance 
of  well-being,  the  wasting  of  her  frame,  which  was  the  result  of  per- 
petual fastings  and  mortifications,  she  wore  several  dresses,  adorned 
herself  with  pearls,  and  always  appeared  with  a  radiant  aspect ;  nothing 
rejoiced  her  more  than  when  she  heard  slander  raise  doubts  about  her 
virtue,  declare  that  Eudoxia  was  always  seeking  admiration,  and  even 
that  she  had  lovers.  These  rumours  appeared  outrageous  to  the  sons 
of  Donsko'i,  especially  to  Youri  Dmitrievitch,  who  could  not  conceal 
from  his  mother  how  much  they  troubled  him.  Eudoxia  at  last  called 
them,  and  removed  a  portion  of  her  garments  in  their  presence, 
"  Believe  now,"  she  cried  to  her  sons,  horror-stricken  at  the  sight  of  her 
body  wasted  and  worn  by  excess  of  fasting,  "  believe  that  your  mother 
is  chaste  ;  but  let  what  you  have  seen  remain  for  ever  a  secret  for  the 
world.  She  who  loves  Jesus  Christ  ought  to  bear  calumny,  and  to 
thank  God  for  having  sent  her  this  trial."  The  slander  was  soon 
reduced  to  silence.  A  short  time  before  her  death,  Eudoxia  abandoned 
the  world,  and  entered  the  monastery,  where  she  took  the  name  of 
Enphrosyne,  and  ended  her  days,  honoured  with  that  of  saint.' — 
Karamsin. 

After  Eudoxia  was  buried  here,  the  church  became 
the  burying-place  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Moscow  for 

T 


274  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

all  the  Grand-Princesses  and  their  daughters,  whose  tombs 
are  ranged  side  by  side  beginning  with  hers.1  Almost 
immediately  follow  the  sarcophagi  of  the  wives  of  Ivan 
the  Great— the  beloved  Mary  of  Tver,  who  died  at  Kolomna 
of  poison  in  extreme  youth  (1467),  and  the  unloved  but 
brilliant  and  energetic  Sophia  (1503),  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  of  the  East.  Then  attention  will  be  drawn  to 
the  tomb  of  Helena,  widow  of  Vassili  Ivanovitch,  and 
sovereign  regent  of  Russia  during  the  minority  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible,  who  died  of  poison  in  1538.  Next  comes  the 
tomb  of  Ivan  IV.'s  first  wife  Anastasia  (1560),  his  good 
angel,  with  whom  his  prosperity  came  to  an  end,  followed 
by  those  of  his  succeeding  wives.  Mary  (1569),  and  Marpha 
(1571),  who  both  died  of  poison.  Near  these  rests  the 
young  Tsarevna  Theodosia,  the  child  of  Feodor  and  Irene, 
hailed  with  the  most  extreme  delight  by  her  parents,  but 
taken  away  from  them  in  infancy.  Perhaps  the  greatest 
interest  centres  around  the  tomb  of  Irene  Godunof,  widow 
of  the  Tsar  Feodor,  who  died  a  nun  in  the  Novo  Devichi 
Monastery.  - 

'  Through  six  years  she  had  never  left  her  voluntary  retreat,  unless 
to  go  to  the  chapel,  which  was  erected  near  her  humble  dwelling. 
Illustrious  by  her  mental  qualities,  and  by  her  extraordinary  destiny, 
her  fortune  had  come  to  seek  her,  when,  bereft  of  father  and  mother, 
she  was  pining  in  sad  isolation.  Though  brought  up  and  cherished  by 
Ivan  (the  Terrible),  she  remained  virtuous.  First  female  sovereign 
regnant  in  Russia,  she  shut  herself  up,  whilst  still  young,  in  a  convent. 
Pure  herself  before  God,  she  is  stained  in  history  by  her  relationship 
to  a  cruel  adventurer,  to  whom,  though  unintentionally,  she  pointed  out 
the  way  to  the  throne.  Blinded  by  the  attachment  she  felt  for  him, 
and  by  the  lustre  of  his  seeming  virtues,  she  was  either  ignorant  of  his 
crimes,  or  never  believed  in  them.  .  .  .  Irene,  who  never  interfered 

1  See  Mouravieff,  ch.  v. 


THE  ASCENSION  CONVENT.  275 

with  Boris  during  his  reign,  served  as  his  guardian  angel  by  attracting 
towards  him  the  affections  of  the  people,  who  never  ceased  to  regard 
her,  even  in  her  cell,  as  the  true  mother  of  her  country.  Irene  was 
happy  in  her  death  ;  she  did  not  witness  the  loss  of  all  that  she  still 
loved  vipon  earth.' — Karamsin,  xi. 

The  wives  of  Michael  and  Alexis  Romanoff  have  tombs 
here.  The  last  sarcophagus  is  that  of  Eudoxia,  first  wife 
of  Peter  the  Great.  All  the  tombs  are  covered  by  velvet 
palls,  with  borders  of  gold  and  silver  lace.  The  place  is 
watched  over  by  a  number  of  sweet-looking  nuns,  ex- 
tremely busy,  even  in  the  church,  in  the  sale  of  their 
needle-work  and  icons,  at  exceedingly  low  prices.  They 
are  dressed  in  robes  of  black  stuff,  with  black  veils  and 
forehead-cloths  and  black  wrappers  under  the  chin.  The 
abbess  is  only  distinguished  by  a  robe  of  black  silk.  Meat 
is  entirely  prohibited  in  this  convent.  The  service  on 
Orthodox  Sunday  is  especially  striking  here,  when  the 
Russian  Church  gratefully  and  publicly  offers 

'  To  the  religious  Great  Duke  Vladimir  equal  to  the  Apostles,  and 
to  Olga  his  grandmother,  and  to  all  other  religious  princes  and  prin- 
cesses of  Russia,  everlasting  remembrance. 

'  To  the  religious  princesses,  daughters  of  tsars  and  great  duchesses, 
Anna  Petrowna,  Natalia  Petrowna — To  the  religious  princesses, 
daughters  of  the  sons  of  tsars  and  great  duchesses,  Tatiana  Michael- 
owna,  Irene  Michaelowna,  the  nun  Anthya  Michaelowna,  the  nun 
Sophia  Alexiewna,  the  nun  Margarita  Alexiewna,  Theodosia  Alex- 
iewna,  Eudoxia  Alexiewna,  Catherina  Ivanowna,  Parascovia  Ivanowna  : 
to  the  religious  princess  and  great  duchess  Natalia  Alexiewna.  and 
the  rest  of  the  imperial  family,  and  all  who  are  born  of  great  dukes  of 
Russia,  everlasting  remembrance.' 

It  was  to  this  convent  that  the  Tsaritsa  Marpha,  seventh 
wife  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  and  mother  of  the  murdered 

T  2 


276  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Dmitri,  was  dragged  from  her  convent  at  Bielo-ozero,  to  be 
treated  with  feigned  honours,  forced  to  recognise  the 
usurper  as  her  son,  and  to  receive  his  Polish  bride  Marina 
as  her  future  daughter-in-law  ;  here  also  she  eventually 
summoned  courage  to  denounce  the  false  Dmitri,  and  caused 
his  downfall  and  death. 

Nearer  the  gate  is  Chitdof  'or  Miracle  Monastery,  founded 
in  1365  by  S.  Alexis,  on  ground  given  to  him  by  Taidula, 
wife  of  the  Tartar  Khan  Djanibek,  who  considered  that 
he  had  cured  her  from  illness  by  a  miracle,  whence  the 
name.  It  was  here  that,  in  1440,  the  Patriarch  Isidore,  who 
attended  the  council  of  Florence  and  horrified  Russian 
orthodoxy  by  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope, 
was  imprisoned  on  his  return,  though  he  soon  escaped  and 
fled  to  Rome.  Here  also  the  intrusive  Patriarch  Ignatius, 
who  had  blessed  the  false  Dmitri,  was  imprisoned  in 
1606,  and  here  in  1612  the  Patriarch  Hermogenes  was 
starved  to  death  by  the  Poles,  the  Tsar  Vassili  Shu:ski 
having  already  been  compelled  to  become  a  monk  in  the 
convent. 

The  church  contains  the  body  of  '  S.  Alexis  the  wonder- 
worker '  (Thaumaturge),  in  a  silver  shrine.  It  was  discovered 
after  the  retreat  of  the  French,  untouched,  though  Marshal 
Davoust  had  his  quarters  in  the  sacristy  and  slept  there. 
It  is  said  that  he  asked,  '  Whose  tomb  is  this  ? '  and  being 
told,  said,  '  Let  the  old  man  rest.'  Every  sovereign  on  his 
entrance  into  Moscow  visits  the  grave  of  Alexis,  and  all 
children,  on  being  first  taken  to  school,  are  brought  hither 
to  implore  the  saint  to  watch  over  their  studies.  The  robes 
of  Alexis  are  preserved  near  his  shrine,  and  his  will  is  in  the 
sacristy. 


CHUDOF  MONASTERY.  277 

'  Long  before  the  reign  of  Vassili  Ivanovitch,  say  the  chroniclers, 
had  the  relics  of  the  holy  Metropolitan  Alexis  the  power  of  healing  the 
sick  ;  but  in  1519,  this  miraculous  power  was  confirmed  by  a  sacred 
ceremony.  The  Metropolitan  Varlaam  having  informed  the  monarch 
that  many  blind  persons,  filled  with  lively  faith  as  they  kissed  the 
reliquary  of  S.  Alexis,  had  recovered  their  sight,  the  clergy  assembled 
at  the  sound  of  all  the  bells  with  an  innumerable  multitude  of  people, 
and  these  miracles,  with  the  proofs  in  support  of  them,  were  announced 
with  pomp  :  the  Te  Deum  was  sung  upon  the  holy  tomb  ;  the  Great 
Prince,  filled  with  emotion,  was  the  first  to  prostrate  himself,  rendering 
thanks  to  the  Divine  Pity,  which,  in  his  reign,  had  "  opened  a  second 
source  of  blessing  and  salvation  for  Moscow."  S.  Alexis  was  henceforth 
placed,  in  the  opinion  of  the  people,  in  the  same  rank  as  the  Metro- 
politan Peter,  the  ancient  patron  of  Moscow.' — Karamsin,  vii. 

In  this  church  the  idolised  Grand-Prince  Vassili  Ivano- 
vitch (father  of  Ivan  the  Terrible),  '  the  good  and  affable 
Prince,'  lay  in  state,  having  received  the  monastic  tonsure 
just  before  his  death  in  1533.  On  this  occasion  the  grief 
of  the  people  was  indescribable — '  They  were  like  children 
at  the  burial  of  their  father,'  say  the  annalists. 

The  dedication  of  the  monastic  church  to  S.  Michael 
recalls  the  touching  story  of  the  murder  of  that  early  Grand- 
Prince  in  1319  by  the  Tartars,  and  his  burial  in  the  earlier 
building  on  this  site,1  in  which  the  Ivan  Kalita  (Ivan  I.) 
took  the  monastic  habit  before  his  death  in  1340.  The 
'  cells  '  or  apartments  of  the  Metropolitan  are  in  this 
monastery,  which  has  been  rebuilt  since  the  French  in- 
vasion of  1812. 

Behind  the  monasteries  is  the  Arsenal,  constructed 
1701-1736.  Along  the  square  in  front  of  it  are  ranged  a 
quantity  of  cannon  '  taken  from  the  enemy  on  Russian 
territory  by  the  victorious  army  and  the  brave  and  faithful 

1  Karamsin,  iv. 


278  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Russian  nation.'  Many  of  the  guns,  left  behind  in  the 
retreat  when  winter  was  avenging  Moscow,  are  inscribed — 
La  Tempete,  L'Acharne,  L'Hercule,  &c.  Others  bear 
Latin  mottoes,  *  Vigilate  Deo  confidentes,'  'Concordia  res 
parvae  crescunt,'  *  Pro  gloria  et  patria  ; '  others  are  marked 
'  Strasbourg,  le  26  Fructidor.' 1  The  huge  cannon  nearest 
the  cathedrals  is  called  the  Tsar  Pushka  or  Tsar  Cannon, 
and  bears  the  effigy  of  the  Tsar  Feodor,  during  whose  reign 
(1586)  it  was  cast.  This  cannon  was  spared  by  a  special 
Ukaz  of  Peter  the  Great,  when  he  ordered  the  rest  of  the 
old  cannon  to  be  recast.  The  cannon  destroyed  included 
some  interesting  works  executed  under  Vassili  Ivanovitch. 

'  Basilius  dyd  furthermore  instytute  a  bande  of  harqabusiers  on 
horsebacke,  and  caused  many  great  brazen  pieces  to  be  made  by  the 
workmanshyp  of  certayne  Italians  :  and  the  same  with  theyr  stockes 
and  wheeles  to  be  placed  in  the  castle  of  Mosca.' — Eden's  'Hist,  of 
Travayles,  p.  301. 

The  gate  which  opens  into  the  Krasnaya  Ploschad,  near 
the  Arsenal,  is  the  Nicholas  Gate — Nikolski,  which  dates 
from  1491,  and  bears  the  miraculous  icon  of  S.  Nicholas  of 
Mojaisk,  which  is  supposed  to  have  caused  Napoleon's 
powder-wagons  to  explode  when  they  attempted  to  pass  it. 
The  other  two  gates  are  called  Borovitski  and  Troitski. 
By  the  last  the  French  both  entered  and  left  the  Kremlin. 

'  Apres  avoir  vu  le  Kremlin,  on  ferait  bien  de  s'en  retourner  tout 
droit  dans  son  pays  :  1'emotion  du  voyage  est  epuisee.' — M.  de  Custine. 

The  most  striking  view  of  the  Kremlin  is  that  just 
beyond  the  bridge  over  the  Moskva,  reached  by  the  steep 

1  Not  a  single  gun  was  carried  by  the  French  across  the  Niemen  on  quitting 
Russia. 


THE  MOSKVA. 


279 


descent  below  S.  Basil.  Owing  to  the  gold  with  which  they 
are  covered,  the  domes  and  spires  sparkle  even  after  the 
sun  has  set,  and  when  the  towers  are  mere  shadows  against 
the  blue  sky  of  night. 

'  There  is  a  massive  beauty  about  the  churches  of  the  Kremlin, 
which  no  one  who  has  not  seen  them  can  form  an  idea  of.  No  out- 
lines, nor  even  any  coloured  drawings,  can  give  it.  To  be  realised  they 


KREMLIN,   MOSCOW. 


must  be  seen  with  their  massive  snowy  walls  and  their  golden  cupolas 
standing  out  against  the  pellucid  sky  and  resplendent  with  the  midday 
sun,  or — even  in  greater  beauty — embossed  upon  the  blueness  of  a 
summer  night.' — '  The  Builder ^ '  Jan.  26,  1884. 

It  was  here  that  the  ancient  Tsars  used  to  assist  at  the 
Benediction  of  the  Waters,  as  we  read  in  *  Hakluyt's  Voyages.' 

'  The   4   of  January,   which  was  Twelftide  with   them,    the    Em- 
perour,  with  his  brother  and  all  his  nobles,  all  most  richly  appareled 


280  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

with  gold,  pearles,  precious  stones,  and  costly  furres,  with  a  crowne 
upon  his  head,  of  the  Tartarian  fashion,  went  to  the  church  in  proces- 
sion, with  the  Metropolitan  and  divers  bishops  and  priests.  Then  he 
came  out  of  the  church,  and  went  with  the  procession  upon  the  river, 
being  all  frozen,  and  there  standing  bareheaded,  with  all  his  nobles, 
there  was  a  hole  made  in  the  ice,  and  the  Metropolitan  hallowed  the 
water  with  great  solemnitie  and  service,  and  did  cast  of  the  sayd  water 
upon  the  Emperor's  sonne  and  the  nobility.  That  done,  the  people 
with  great  thronging  filled  pots  of  the  said  water  to  carie  home  to  their 
houses,  and  divers  children  were  throwen  in,  and  sicke  people,  and 
plucked  out  quickly  againe,  and  divers  Tartars  christened  :  all  which 
the  Emperour  beheld.  Also  there  were  brought  the  Emperour's  best 
horses,  to  drink  at  the  sayd  hallowed  water.  All  this  being  ended,  he 
returned  to  his  palace  againe,  and  went  to  dinner  by  candle  light,  and 
sate  in  a  woodden  house,  very  fairly  gilt.  There  dined  in  the  place 
above  300  strangers,  and  I  sate  alone  opposite  the  Emperour,  and  had 
my  meat,  bread,  and  drinke  sent  me  from  the  Emperour.' — Letters  of 
Master  Anthonie  Jenkinson,  1557. 

Till  very  recently  the  Moskva  was  only  crossed  by  a 
kind  of  raft,  called  by  the  Russians  'a  living  bridge,'  because 
it  bent  under  the  weight  of  a  carriage.  Now  there  are 
several  bridges.  Near  that  at  tne  foot  of  the  Kremlin  on  the 
west  is  a  church  set  apart  for  the  benediction  of  apples  ; 
and  this  is  not  given  until  the  first  apple  drops  from  the 
tree  and  is  brought  to  the  priest  with  much  ceremony. 
More  willingly  would  a  Mahometan  eat  pork  than  a  Russian 
unconsecrated  fruit. 


28l 


CHAPTER   VI. 

MOSCOW. 

THE   OUTER   CIRCLES. 

VERY  near  the  bridge,  below  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow, 
is  the  Foundling  Hospital — Vospitatelny  Dom.  '  La 
Maison  Imperiale  d'Education,'  which  Madame  de  Stael 
calls  '  une  des  plus  touchantes  institutions  de  1'Europe,'  was 
founded  by  Catherine  II.,  and  greatly  fostered  by  the  Empress 
Marie  (widow  of  Paul),  whose  schools,  charities,  and  hospitals 
make  a  prominent  mark  in  Russian  history.  The  hospital 
is  an  immense  building  with  2,228  windows,  which  receives 
between  2,000  and  3,000  children  annually.  No  questions 
are  asked  on  admission,  except  whether  the  child  has  been 
christened  and  what  its  name  is.  At  a  font  in  the  entrance- 
room  on  the  ground  floor,  at  five  o'clock  daily,  those  chil- 
dren are  admitted  into  the  pale  of  Christianity  who  are 
brought  to  the  hospital  without  having  a  little  cross  hung 
round  their  necks— the  sign  of  a  Greek  Christian.  Women 
may  come  here  for  their  delivery,  and  leave  their  babies 
behind  them.  The  children  are  sent  to  nurses  in  the 
country  till  they  are  five  years  old,  and  then  are  received 
back,  as  fast  as  there  are  vacancies,  to  stay  till  they  are 


282  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

eighteen,  when  they  are  dismissed  with  thirty  roubles  and 
two  suits  of  clothes.  The  boys  are  liable  to  military  service, 
but  the  greater  number  of  them  become  agricultural  la- 
bourers. Many  of  the  girls  are  trained  as  hospital  nurses. 
If  they  marry  before  their  eighteenth  year,  they  are  provided 
with  a  trousseau.  It  is  worth  while  to  come  to  the  Sunday 
services  here  for  the  sake  of  the  singing,  which  is  very  beau- 
tiful. 

'  Unfortunately,  this  famous  refuge  has  corrupted  all  the  villages 
round  Moscow.  Peasant  girls  who  have  forgotten  to  get  married  send 
their  babies  to  the  institution,  and  then  offer  themselves  in  person  as 
wet  nurses.  Having  tattooed  their  offspring,  each  mother  contrives  to 
find  her  own,  and  takes  charge  of  it  by  a  private  arrangement  with 
the  nurse  to  whom  it  has  been  assigned.  As  babies  are  much  alike, 
the  authorities  cannot  detect  these  interchanges,  and  do  not  attempt 
to  do  so.  In  due  time  the  mother  returns  to  her  village  with  her  own 
baby,  whose  board  will  be  well  paid  by  the  State  at  the  rate  of  8s.  a 
month,  and  possibly  next  year  and  the  year  after  she  will  begin  the 
same  game  over  again.' — 'The  Russians  of  To-day  J  1878. 

Beyond  the  farther  or  stone  bridge,  nobly  conspicuous 
in  all  the  views  from  the  Kremlin,  we  see  the  snowy  mass 
and  golden  domes  of  '  the  New  Cathedral '  of  the  Saviour — 
Khram  Spassitelia,  which  was  begun  in  1812,  and  is  only 
just  finished.  It  is  by  far  the  finest  modem  church  in 
Russia.  Built  to  commemorate  the  deliverance  of  Moscow 
from  the  French,  it  bears  the  motto,  '  God  with  us '  over  the 
entrance.  In  the  interior,  typical  frescoes  of  Joshua's 
entrance  into  Palestine,  Deborah  encouraging  Barak,  David 
returning  from  the  slaughter  of  Goliath,  and  the  coronation 
of  Solomon,  alternate  with  scenes  from  Russian  history. 
The  views  of  the  interior  from  the  upper  galleries  are  most 
gorgeous  and  striking. 


DOM  PASHKOVA.  283 

'  The  services  of  Christmas  Day  are  almost  obscured  by  those  which 
celebrate  the  retreat  of  the  invaders  on  that  same  day,  the  25th  of 
December,  1812,  from  the  Russian  soil  ;  the  last  of  that  long  succes- 
sion of  national  thanksgivings,  which  begin  with  the  victory  of  the 
Don  and  the  flight  of  Tamerlane,  and  end  with  the  victory  of  Beresina 
and  the  flight  of  Napoleon.  "  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O 
Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning  !" — this  is  the  lesson  appointed  for  the 
services  of  that  day.  "  There  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the 
moon,  and  in  the  stars,  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations  with 
perplexity."  "  Look  up  and  lift  up  your  heads,  for  your  redemption 
draweth  nigh" — this  is  the  gospel  of  the  day.  "Who  through  faith 
subdued  kingdoms,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies 
of  the  aliens  " — this  is  the  epistle.' — Stanley ',  '  The  Russian  Church. ^ 


Not  far  from  the  cathedral,  high  above  the  surrounding 
buildings,  rises  Dom  Pashkova,  formerly  the  magnificent 
residence  of  the  Pashkof  family,  and  the  finest  private 
residence  in  Moscow.  It  is  now  used  as  a  museum,  but 
contains  little  which  will  be  interesting  to  foreigners,  and 
the  collection  of  pictures  is  a  wretched  one  :  only  Ivanoff's 
great  picture  of  the  Baptist  showing  Christ  to  his  Converts 
is  very  expressive  and  striking. 

The  museum,  which  comprises  almost  every  kind  of 
object,  has  for  Russians  an  extraneous  interest,  as  showing 
the  extraordinary  progress  of  science  in  the  ancient  capital 
during  the  last  century,  especially  when  it  is  remembered 
that  as  late  as  the  time  of  Alexis  a  Dutch  surgeon  was  con- 
demned to  be  burnt  with  his  skeleton,  because  he  kept  one 
for  anatomical  purposes  ;  and  a  German  painter,  in  whose 
studio  a  skull  was  found,  was  with  difficulty  rescued  from 
the  same  fate. 

A  hundred  years  ago,  out  of  the  8,360  private  houses  in 
the  city,  6,400  were  the  property  of  the  nobles,  who  mostly 
passed  their  winter  in  the  town ;  now  the  greater  part  belong 


284  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

to  merchants  and  manufacturers.  A  stranger,  calling  at  one 
of  these  great  houses,  need  never  expect  to  see  the  ladies 
of  the  family ;  sufficient  of  Eastern  custom  still  prevails  to 
prevent  such  an  indiscretion.  After  a  time  the  master 
of  the  house  will  appear,  and  then  tea  and  slices  of 
lemon  will  be  handed  round.  The  state-rooms  are  never 
inhabited.  According  to  our  ideas,  domestic  life  of  less 
than  the  highest  rank  in  old-fashioned  Russian  houses  is 
most  uncomfortable.  The  men  seldom  take  off  more  than 
their  shoes  and  coats  at  night,  and  their  beds  are  only 
covered  by  a  sheet  and  a  quilt.  For  breakfast  a  cup  of  tea 
is  considered  quite  sufficient  till  noon.  Ablutions  consist 
in  a  servant  pouring  a  little  water  on  the  hands  :  indeed, 
in  all  classes,  it  is  the  custom  to  throw  water  on  to  the 
hands,  or  to  turn  it  on  from  a  cock,  never  to  immerse  them. 

There  is  nothing  like  '  Sir '  or  '  Madam  '  in  Russia  ;  the 
formula  is  to  address  a  person  by  his  Christian  name 
coupled  with  that  of  his  father,  as  thus  :  '  Augustus,  son  of 
Francis,'  *  Olga,  daughter  of  Ivan.' 

Half  the  servants  in  the  great  houses  have  next  to 
nothing  to  do,  and  sleep  half  the  day.  Even  at  the  hotels 
a  number  of  idle  servants  are  kept,  whose  chief  duty  seems 
to  be  to  lounge  about  the  entrance  and  make  an  effect,  with 
circles  of  peacocks'  feathers  round  their  caps.  The  Countess 
Orloff,  residing  at  Moscow,  had  so  many  servants  that  she  re- 
quired to  have  a  special  hospital  for  them  in  case  of  sickness. 
To  a  resident,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  visiting  in  Russian 
houses,  the  fees  expected  by  servants  at  the  New  Year  are 
an  absurd  expense  :  where  you  are  an  habitual  visitor  the 
servants  expect  five  roubles,  and  where  you  have  only  called 
once,  one  rouble. 


THE   ROMANOFF  HOUSE.  285 

'  The  nobles,  with  their  families  and  serfs,  lived  in  a  mixture  of 
Oriental  and  European  luxury.  The  peasant  worked  and  paid  a  poll- 
tax  to  his  lord,  which  the  latter,  with  his  family  and  domestic  slaves, 
generally  expended  in  Moscow.  The  greatest  luxury  was  displayed 
in  the  number  of  horses  and  servants  ;  and  the  Government  was  fre- 
quently obliged  to  issue  regulations  regarding  the  equipages,  decreeing 
who  might  drive  with  six,,  four,  two  horses,  &c.  Of  the  luxury  dis- 
played in  servants  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  form  an  idea ;  it  is  asserted 
that  in  the  larger  palaces  there  were  as  many  as  a  thousand,  or  more  : 
even  nobles  of  minor  consequence  and  fortune  had  at  least  from  twenty 
to  thirty  ;  and  a  more  wretched,  lazy,  disorderly  crew  was  not  to  be 
found.  It  was  impossible  to  give  sufficient  occupation  to  this  crowd  of 
people,  and  it  was  often  ridiculous  to  see  the  way  in  which  the  house- 
hold duties  were  divided  amongst  them  :  one  had  nothing  in  the  world 
to  do  but  to  sweep  a  flight  of  stairs,  another  had  only  to  fetch  water 
for  the  family  to  drink  at  dinner,  another  for  the  evening  tea.  The 
expense,  however,  of  their  maintenance  was  little  enough.  They  lived, 
like  Russian  peasants,  on  bread,  groats,  shtchi  (cabbage-soup)  and 
kvas  (sour  beer) :  their  dress  was  that  of  the  peasants,  and  they  lived 
in  the  isbas  (black  rooms),  which  are  always  found  in  Russian  court- 
yards.'— Haxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire.* 


If  we  follow  the  lower  side  of  the  Bazaar  from  the  Red 
Place,  we  may  soon  find  our  way  to  the  Romanoff  House — 
Palata  Boyar  Romanovykh — in  which  Feodor  Romanoff, 
afterwards  known  as  the  Patriarch  Philaret,  lived,  and  where 
his  son  Michael,  afterwards  tsar,  was  born.  The  house  was 
restored  1856-59  :  indeed,  almost  entirely  rebuilt ;  and  is 
chiefly  interesting  as  showing  the  character,  even  to  minute 
details,  of  an  ancient  Russian  boyar-house.  The  Romanoffs 
were  merely  boyars  till  1613. 

We  may  return  hence  by  the  boulevard  on  the  out- 
side of  the  Kitaigorod,  which  will  give  us  an  opportunity 
of  admiring  the  intensely  picturesque  towers  on  its  walls. 
It  was  in  one  of  them  that  a  Countess  Soltikoff  was  im- 


286  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

prisoned  for  many  years  with  great  severity,  on  account  of 
her  cruelty  to  her  slaves. 

We  re-enter  the  Kitaigorod  by  the  Sunday  gate — Voss- 
kreosenkaya  Verota — by  which  we  came  in  from  the  railway 
station.  On  the  outside  is  the  little  Chapel  of  the  Virgin — 
'the  Iberian  Mother,' — Iverskaya  Chasovnia — containing  an 
icon  brought  from  Mount  Athos  in  the  time  of  the  Tsar 
Alexis,  which  has  ever  since  been  the  palladium  of  Moscow. 
When  the  French  were  approaching  the  town,  the  inhabitants 
implored  to  be  led  against  them  by  the  Iberian  Mother.  At 
all  hours  of  the  day  people  are  kneeling  in  the  chapel, 
or  on  the  steps  and  platform  in  front.  Every  passer-by 
crosses  himself,  and  innumerable  gifts  are  made  to  the 
Virgin,  which  priests  live  close  by  to  '  take  care  of.'  The 
shrine  collects  at  least  10,000  roubles  a  year,  a  large  portion 
of  which  pays  the  salary  of  the  Metropolitan  ;  and  '  that  the 
income  of  the  Metropolitan  may  not  be  less '  is  the  excuse 
given  for  setting  a  representation  of  the  Iberian  Mother  in 
her  place  '  to  collect  her  revenues '  during  her  absences. 
The  devotion  which  the  Emperor  pays  to  this  venerated 
icon,  always  lingering  at  her  shrine  on  his  way  from  the 
station  to  the  Kremlin,  is  a  matter  of  political  importance,  a 
real  bond  of  attachment  between  him  and  his  people.  The 
Virgin  keeps  a  carriage  and  four,  and  pays  visits  ;  and  her 
carriage  may  always  be  recognised  in  the  streets  by  the 
passengers  uncovering,  and  even  the  coachman  driving 
without  his  hat.  When  a  new  house  is  built,  the  owner 
sends  to  ask  the  Iberian  Mother  to  come  and  give  it  a 
blessing.  She  will  also  attend  weddings  and  visit  the  sick 
for  a  gratuity  of  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  roubles  ;  but  if  the 
demand  for  her  company  is  too  frequent,  the  answer  sent 


THE   IBERIAN  MOTHER.  287 

is,  'The  Mother  is  fatigued  to-day,  and  cannot  come.'  A 
princess  who  coveted  the  largest  diamond  worn  by  the 
Mother,  and  who  extracted  it  with  her  teeth  from  her  dress 
whilst  kissing  it,  was  sent  to  Siberia  for  life. 

'  The  Iberian  Mother  sits  in  the  half-darkened  background,  in  the 
midst  of  gold  and  pearls.  Like  all  Russian  saints,  she  has  a  dark- 
brown,  almost  black  complexion.  Round  her  head  she  has  a  net  made 
of  real  pearls.  On  one  shoulder  a  large  jewel  is  fastened,  shedding 
brightness  around,  as  if  a  butterfly  had  settled  there.  Such  another 
butterfly  rests  on  her  brow,  above  which  glitters  a  brilliant  crown.  On 
one  corner  of  the  picture,  on  a  silver  plate,  is  inscribed,  rj  ^rr?p  0eov 
roDv  'Iftepcav.  Around  the  picture  are  gold  brocaded  hangings,  to  which 
angels'  heads,  painted  on  porcelain  with  silver  wings,  are  sewed  ;  the 
whole  is  lighted  up  by  thirteen  silver  lamps.  Beside  the  picture  there 
are  a  number  of  drawers  containing  wax  tapers,  and  books  having 
reference  to  her  history.  Her  hand  and  the  foot  of  the  child  are 
covered  with  dirt  from  constant  kissing  ;  it  rests  like  a  little  crust  in 
raised  points,  so  that  it  has  long  ceased  to  be  the  hand  and  foot  that 
have  been  kissed,  but  the  concrete  breath  of  the  pious.  The  doors  of 
the  chapel  stand  open  all  day  long,  and  all  are  admitted  who  are 
sorrowful  or  heavy-laden  ;  and  this  includes  here,  as  everywhere  else, 
a  great  number.  I  have  often  watched  with  amazement  the  multitudes 
that  streamed  in,  testifying  to  the  inordinate  power  which  this  picture 
exercises  over  their  minds.  None  ever  pass,  however  pressing  their 
business,  without  bowing  or  crossing  themselves.  The  greater  part 
enter,  kneel  devoutly  before  the  Mother,  and  pray  with  fervent  sighs. 
Here  come  the  peasants  early  in  the  morning  before  going  to  market  ; 
they  lay  aside  their  burdens,  pray  awhile,  and  then  go  their  way. 
Hither  comes  the  merchant  on  the  eve  of  a  new  speculation,  to  ask  the 
assistance  of  the  angels  hovering  round  "the  Mother."  Hither  come 
the  healthy  and  the  sick,  the  wealthy,  and  those  who  would  become 
so  ;  the  arriving  and  the  departing  traveller,  the  fortunate  and  the  un 
fortunate,  the  noble  and  the  beggar  !  All  pray,  thank,  supplicate, 
sigh,  laud,  and  pour  but  their  hearts  before  "  the  Mother."  There  is 
really  something  touching  in  seeing  the  most  sumptuously  clad  ladies, 
glittering  with  jewels,  leave  their  splendid  equipages  and  gallant 
attendants,  and  prostrate  themselves  in  the  dust  with  the  beggars.  On 
a  holiday  I  once  counted  two  hundred  passing  pilgrims,  kneeling  down 
before  "the  Iberian  Mother." 


288  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA, 

( I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention  the  principal  point  ;  namely, 
that  there  is  a  very  little  scratch  in  the  right  cheek  of  the  picture,  that 
distils  blood.  This  wound  was  inflicted,  nobody  knows  when  or  how, 
by  Turks  or  Circassians,  and  exactly  this  it  is  by  which  the  miraculous 
powers  of  the  picture  were  proved  ;  for  scarcely  had  the  steel  pierced 
the  canvas  when  the  blood  trickled  from  the  painted  cheek.  In  every 
copy  the  painter  has  represented  this  wound,  with  a  few  delicate  drops 
of  blood.  As  I  was  speaking  of  this  and  other  miracles  to  a  monk,  he 
made,  to  my  imprudent  question  whether  miracles  were  now  daily 
wrought  by  it,  the  really  prudent  reply,  "  Why,  yes,  if  it  be  God's 
pleasure,  and  where  there  is  faith  ;  for  it  is  written  in  the  Bible  that 
faith  alone  blesses."' — Kohl. 


These  are  the  principal  sights  of  Moscow  ;  but  to  obtain 
some  knowledge  of  the  place  and  people  many  rambles 
must  be  made  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
Kremlin.  Much  is  uninteresting,  and  most  is  dusty  and 
ugly,  but  generally  some  curious  church  will  repay  the 
architect  or  artist  for  his  excursion,  and  the  people  are 
always  original.  The  ambassadors  of  Holstein  narrate  that, 
at  the  time  of  their  visit  (1633-1639),  there  were  2,000 
churches  and  chapels  in  Moscow  :  c  no  one  but  hath  his 
private  chapel,  nor  any  street  but  hath  many  of  them.' 

'  The  Mosco  itself  is  great :  I  take  the  whole  towne  to  bee  greater 
than  London  with  the  suburbes  :  but  it  is  very  rude,  and  standeth 
without  all  order.  Their  houses  are  all  of  timber  very  dangerous  for 
fire.' — Richard  Chancelour,  1553. 

*  Moscow  is  in  everything  extraordinary  ;  as  well  in  disappointing 
expectation,  as  in  surpassing  it  ;  in  causing  wonder  and  derision, 
pleasure  and  regret.  One  might  imagine  all  the  states  of  Europe  and 
Asia  had  sent  a  building,  by  way  of  representative,  to  Moscow  :  and 
under  this  impression  the  eye  is  presented  with  deputies  from  all 
countries,  holding  congress ;  timber-huts  from  regions  beyond  the 
Arctic  ;  plastered  palaces  from  Sweden  and  Denmark,  not  whitewashed 
since  their  arrival  ;  painted  walls  from  the  Tirol  ;  mosques  from  Con- 


SIDE  STREETS  IN  MOSCOW.  289 

stantinople  ;  Tartar  temples  from  Bucharia  ;  pagodas,  pavilions,  and 
verandahs  from  China  ;  cabarets  from  Spain  ;  dungeons,  prisons,  and 
public  offices  from  France  ;  architectural  ruins  from  Rome  ;  terraces 
and  trellises  from  Naples  ;  and  warehouses  from  Wapping.' — Clarke's 

'  Travels: 

Many  of  the  so-called  streets  are  really  quiet  lanes,  where 
wooden  gates  open  into  courtyards  planted  with  lilacs, 
acacias,  and  senna,  and  peopled  by  a  multitude  of  dogs, 
goats,  or  poultry,  sometimes  even  a  cow.  Here  children 
are  brought  up  in  sunshine,  and  the  enjoyment  of  a  rude, 
quiet  country  life  ;  the  younger  women  do  their  washing  at 
great  troughs,  and  the  older  members  of  the  family  sit 
knitting  or  spinning  in  the  wooden  verandah  or  gallery  which 
surrounds  the  primitive  house. 

'  The  streets  of  the  new  quarter  of  the  noblesse  are  not  broad,  but 
as  the  houses  are  all  low  and  stand  in  gardens  away  generally  from  the 
street-side,  and  as  there  is  not  much  traffic  among  them,  there  is  a 
freshness  and  a  brightness  of  the  air  and  a  repose  and  soothing  quiet 
which  make  a  saunter  along  them  particularly  pleasing.  Here  and 
there  children  are  about  in  the  gardens,  or  domestics  are  lazily  occupied 
in  the  stable-yards  cleaning  the  harness  by  the  stable-door,  or  lounging 
about,  enjoying  the  far  niente  ;  while  the  noisy  hum  of  the  busy  city  is 
just  audible  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  quarter. 

'  The  noble  builds  his  house,  in  town  or  country,  on  a  cottage  plan. 
He  raises  a  low  wall  of  stone  or  brick  of  some  four  feet  in  height,  and 
on  this  he  builds  a  wooden  house  of  one  storey.  It  is  long  and  wide, 
and  a  passage  or  hall  intersects  it  from  one  extremity  to  the  other,  and 
the  rooms  on  either  hand  open  on  to  this,  and  communicate  with  each 
other.  Often,  too,  there  is  a  small  superstructure  rising  from  the 
centre  of  this  wide  basement,  but  this  is  generally  only  a  small  addition 
— in  fact,  a  small  cottage  built  in  the  centre  of  the  top  of  a  large  one. 
Sometimes,  but  rarely,  the  upper  structure  is  as  large  as  the  lower  one, 
and  forms  a  complete  one-storeyed  house.  But  beyond  this  no  truly 
Russian  house  ever  rises.  A  broad  flight  of  steps  in  the  centre  of  the 
front  leads  up  to  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the  building  at  four  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  a  verandah,  deep  and  shaded,  runs  all  along  this 

'  U 


290  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

front,  and  sometimes  this  extends  down  the  two  sides  to  the  back.     As 
a  rule,  the  whole  building  is  of  wood.' — G.  T.  Loivth. 

In  one  of  the  suburbs  of  the  town  ready-made  portable 
wooden  houses  may  be  purchased  and  removed.  Owing  to 
the  number  of  wooden  buildings,  fires  are  still  very  frequent, 
though  much  less  so  than  formerly. 

'  There  hardly  passes  a  month  in  Moscow,  nay  not  a  week,  but 
some  place  or  other  takes  fire,  which,  meeting  with  what  is  very  com- 
bustible, does  in  a  moment  reduce  many  houses,  nay,  if  the  wind  be 
anything  high,  whole  streets  unto  ashes.' — Ambassadors  of  Holstein, 
1633-1639. 

Many  of  the  churches  in  remote  parts  of  the  city  not 
only  have  golden  domes,  but  a  veil  of  golden  chains  falls 
over  them  from  the  cross  on  the  summit,  producing  a  most 
extraordinary  effect.  On  the  festivals  of  the  patron  saints 
of  the  churches,  the  streets  in  front  of  them  are  strewn  with 
fir-boughs.  The  great  drawback  to  walking  arises  from  the 
horrors  of  the  pavement,  which  is  usually  rough  beyond 
imagination,  though  in  some,  but  very  rare,  cases,  the  street 
or  footway  is  boarded  with  planks  like  a  floor. 

In  all  rambles  amongst  the  people,  no  one  can  fail  to  be 
struck  with  their  good  humour  ;  however  much  they  cheat 
and  lie.  they  are  always  good-tempered.  They  are  also  very 
kind-hearted,  and  much  as  they  storm  at  and  abuse  their 
horses,  they  never  beat  them  ;  societies  for  the  prevention 
of  cruelty  to  animals  are  utterly  uncalled  for  in  Russia.  In- 
temperance is  much  more  rife  at  Moscow  than  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, 

'  There  is  a  national  difference  between  the  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow  expectants  of  drink-money.  That  everybody  in  Russia  de- 
mands or  receives  drink-money  is  acknowledged,  but  the  St.  Peters- 


THE    THIEF  MARKET.  291 

burger,  infested  with  European  culture,  lisps  out  in  honeyed  accents, 
"Natchai"  (tea),  whilst  the  Moscovian  honestly  asks  "  Na  vodku  " 
(brandy).' — Haxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire.'1 

Yet,  in  the  cabarets,  even  here,  drosky-drivers  may  be  seen, 
who  will  go  on  drinking  nothing  but  tea  from  morning  to 
night. 

If  convicted  of  stealing  or  cheating,  a  Russian  is  comi- 
cally little  ashamed  of  it  ;  it  is  quite  in  the  course  of  nature. 
Not  far  from  the  Red  Place  is  *  the  Thief  Market,'  where 
everything  that  is  sold,  and  quite  openly,  is  supposed  to 
have  been  stolen.  People  who  have  lost  anything  that  they 
care  for  go  thither  to  look  for  their  lost  goods. 

'  This  market  is  a  premium  on  ingenuity.  No  one  in  the  world  is 
more  ingenious  than  a  Russian  about  money.  .  .  .  One  day  a  man 
sold  a  watch  here.  Another  watched  the  sale,  marked  the  buyer,  and 
followed  him.  Passing  through  one  of  the  Kitai  gates,  he,  the  follower, 
met  a  soldier,  to  whom  he  said  a  few  words,  giving  him  a  rouble. 
They  both  came  up  to  the  purchaser  of  the  watch.  Said  the  man, 
addressing  the  purchaser,  "Friend,  you  have  bought  a  watch  in  the 
market — it  is  mine  ;  it  was  stolen  from  me  last  night."  "  How  do  I 
know  that?"  replied  the  other  ;  "what  was  your  watch  like?"  The 
man  described  the  watch,  adding,  "  Here,  show  it  to  my  friend,  this 
soldier ;  he  knows  it  well."  Of  course,  on  seeing  it,  the  soldier 
swore  fiercely  to  it  as  his  friend's  watch.  "Now,"  said  the  man, 
"  you  give  me  up  my  watch,  or  I  follow  you  till  we  meet  a  policeman, 
and  I  will  tell  him  all  about  it."  The  man  gave  up  the  watch,  and  the 
other  went  back  into  the  market  and  sold  it. 

*  A  rich  fur  cloak  was  sold  in  this  market.  Two  men  marked  the 
buyer  go  and  pawn  it.  These  men  in  the  evening  disguised  themselves 
as  police,  and  going  to  the  pawnbroker,  a  Jew,  they  said,  "  You  have 
a  fur  cloak," — describing  it — "pawned  to  you  to-day  ;  we  are  in  search 
of  that  cloak  ;  it  was  stolen  some  days  since."  "  Well,"  said  the  Jew, 
' '  there  it  is.  I  lent  forty  roubles  on  it ;  if  you  pay  me  that  sum,  there 
is  the  cloak."  "Pay  you  forty  roubles!  The  Government  does  not 
pay  for  the  recovery  of  stolen  goods.  If  you  do  not  give  it  up,  you 
must  come  before  the  authorities,  and  you  lose  your  license."  So  the 

U  2 


292  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Jew,  being  frightened,  gave  up  the  cloak,  which  the  men,  their  dis- 
guise thrown  off,  brought  and  sold  in  the  Thief  Market  the  next  day. 

'  One  day  a  servant  went  with  ten  roubles  to  the  market.  He 
returned  presently  in  great  alarm  to  say  that  he  had  dropped  his  purse 
with  the  roubles  in  it  in  the  street.  His  master  sent  him  at  once  to  the 
nearest  police-station.  On  his  way  there,  and  near  the  station,  a 
drosky  driver  saw  him  searching  about,  and  hearing  he  had  lost  his 
purse  the  driver  said,  "  I  saw  a  policeman  of  that  station,"  pointing  to 
it,  "pick  it  up."  The  servant  taxed  the  policeman  with  having  the 
purse,  but  he  denied  it ;  but  the  driver  coming  up  repeated  his  asser- 
tion— "  I  saw  him  pick  it  up."  The  policeman,  being  threatened  with 
exposure,  at  last  produced  the  purse,  and  then  claimed  the  reward  of 
trover— one-third  of  the  property  found.  The  driver  and  the  police- 
man quarrelled  over  the  matter,  and  then  it  appeared  that  both  of  them 
had  seen  the  servant  drop  the  purse,  and  the  policeman  had  refused  to 
go  shares  with  the  driver  in  its  contents,  and  hence  his  denunciation. 
"  This  is  not  a  case  of  trover  at  all,"  said  the  servant,  "  but  a  robbery, 
for  you  saw  me  drop  the  purse."  However,  the  policeman  took  his 
three  roubles  as  trover,  and  returned  the  rest.  If  the  policeman  had 
but  consented  to  share  the  contents  with  the  driver,  it  is  probable  that 
the  latter  would  have  gone  off  to  a  church,  and  on  his  knees  have 
thanked  the  Virgin  for  her  goodness  in  letting  the  servant  drop  his 
purse,  and  for  thus  sending  him  five  roubles.' — G.  T.  Lowth. 

'  Thieves  and  policemen  are  the  great  pests  of  Russian  towns,  but 
especially  policemen.  Russians  are  not  thieves  by  nature,  judging  by 
their  honesty  in  country  districts,  where  there  are  no  police  ;  but  once 
they  get  into  towns,  the  evil  example  set  them  by  official  persons,  and 
the  venal  connivance  they  can  obtain  from  the  police,  prove  too  tempt- 
ing. A  man  who  has  resided  some  time  in  Russia  even  doubts  whether 
the  notions  of  meum  and  tmim  are  comprehended  there  as  they  are  in 
other  countries.  If  you  pay  a  visit  and  leave  a  cloak  on  the  seat  of 
your  carriage,  that  cloak  is  gone  when  you  come  out.  If  you  walk  out 
with  a  dog  unchained,  the  dog  vanishes  round  a  street-corner.  Shop- 
keepers are  afraid  to  place  articles  of  value  in  their  windows.  House- 
holders are  liable  to  have  their  horses  and  carriages  stolen  if  they  do 
not  keep  a  sufficient  number  of  stable  servants,  and  take  care  to  see 
before  going  to  bed  that  one  at  least  of  these  menials  is  sober.  A 
man  who  goes  out  for  a  night  strcll  unarmed  may  be  set  upon  within 
sight  of  a  drosky-stand  and  stripped  of  every  article  he  wears,  including 
shirt  and  small  clothes.  The  drosky  drivers  will  not  give  him  a 
helping  hand  ;  they  will  rather  start  off  altogether  in  a  panic  lest  they 
should  be  summoned  to  give  evidence  ;  as  for  the  police,  they  hurry  up 


SUHAREF  TOWER.  293 

afterwards,  and  make  the  despoiled  man  pay  twice  the  value  of  the 
things  he  has  lost  in  fees  for  investigation.' — ''The  Russians  of  To-day, ' 
1878. 

This  market  was  once  the  '  Hair  Market,' whither  (1636) 
'  the  inhabitants  used  to  go  to  be  trimmed,  by  which  means 
this  place  came  to  be  so  covered  with  hair  that  a  man 
might  tread  as  softly  as  on  a  feather-bed.' 

Though  theft  is  the  common  practice  of  life,  long 
custom  has  made  some  things  sacred  from  it.  No  Russian 
thief  ever  touches  the  tables  of  the  public  money-changers, 
and  no  one  would  ever  think  of  interfering  with  the  cows 
which  are  allowed  to  wander  alone  here,  as  they  do  in  no 
other  country,  and  are  considered  to  be  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  public.  Those  dwellers  in  the  town  who  keep 
cows  will  open  their  gates  in  the  early  morning  to  let  them 
out.  Each  cow  knows  her  way  to  a  certain  barrier  of  the 
city,  where  other  cows  join  her.  At  the  barrier  is  a  man 
blowing  a  horn,  and  waiting  to  conduct  them  to  a  pasture 
outside  the  town  and  take  care  of  them  through  the  day. 
In  the  evening  he  brings  them  back  as  far  as  the  barrier, 
and  thence  each  cow  takes  care  of  herself,  and  finds  her  own 
way  home.  Moscow  cows  will  often  walk  six  miles  to  their 
pasture.1  Cows  are  very  cheap  here  :  if  they  are  of  a 
northern  breed,  about  twenty  roubles  ist  a  good  price  for  a 
cow  ;  if  of  a  southern  breed,  about  forty  roubles,  or  6/. 

Strangers  will  probably  go  to  visit  the  Suharef  Tower  — 
Suhareva  Bashnia — erected  by  Peter  the  Great  to  mark  the 
north-eastern  gate  of  the  town,  which  was  kept  by  the  one 
regiment  of  the  streltsi  which,  under  Colonel  Suharef, 
remained  faithful  when  the  rest  revolted,  and  which  con- 

1  See  Lowth. 


294  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA, 

ducted  him  and  his  mother  for  safety  to  the  Troitsa.  The 
tower  is  now  used  as  a  reservoir,  and  its  waters  supply  the 
whole  of  Moscow. 

Near  the  foot  of  the  tower  a  very  remarkable  market  is 
held  early  every  Sunday  morning,  and  old  Russian  silver, 
curious  icons,  or  brass  bowls  and  dishes  may  be  obtained 
there  at  much  lower  prices  than  in  the  shops. 

Of  the  Moscow  tradesmen  the  carpenters  are  probably 
the  most  remarkable,  as  well  as  the  most  prosperous. 

'  The  plotniki  (carpenters)  are  a  very  characteristic  class.  As  the 
majority  of  buildings  in  Russia  are  of  wood,  and  are  almost  entirely 
built  of  it,  the  carpenters  are  in  number  and  importance  such  as  exist 
in  no  other  country.  Every  peasant  is  a  carpenter,  and  knows  how  to 
frame,  build,  and  fit  up  a  house.  The  plotniki  in  the  towns,  especially 
in  Moscow,  are  the  elite  of  the  ordinary  peasants,  and  not,  as  in  Ger- 
many, workmen  expressly  educated  to  the  business.  They  constitute 
a  complete  and  well-organised  community,  with  connecting  links  and 
sections,  household  arrangements  in  common,  and  leaders  chosen  by 
themselves,  to  whom  implicit  obedience  is  shown. 

'  The  genuine  Russian  plotnik  properly  carries  no  other  implement 
than  an  axe  or  a  chisel :  with  the  axe  in  his  belt  he  traverses  the  empire 
from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  seeks  and  finds  employment.  It  is 
incredible  what  he  can  do  with  his  axe  ;  all  the  manifold  instruments 
of  our  accomplished  artisans  are  quite  unknown  to  him,  and  still  his 
work  is  not  inferior,  nay  is  often  better  adapted  to  the  purpose,  than 
that  of  any  of  our  highly  educated  workmen.  It  is  often  difficult  to 
believe  that  such  charming  decorations  and  carvings  as  are  found  on 
Russian  ships  and  houses  can  have  been  produced  with  a  clumsy  axe 
and  common  chisel.  Lycurgus  prohibited  the  Spartans  from  employing 
other  tools  than  the  axe  and  the  saw,  in  order  to  avoid  all  elegance  as 
effeminate  and  injurious  to  morals.  The  Russian  plotnik  could  have 
shown  him  that  the  natural  inclination  for  ornament,  neatness,  and 
decoration  is  not  destroyed  by  rendering  difficult  the  means  of  attaining 
them.' — Haxthazisen,  '  The  Russian  Empire  S 

The  comical  arts  of  the  peripatetic  street  vendors  are 
well  worth  observation. 


STREET   VENDORS.  295 

1 1  often  loitered  near  one  of  the  ice-vendors  to  divert  myself  with 
his  acting,  and  one  morning  I  took  the  trouble  of  writing  down  some 
of  the  eloquence  with  which  he  sought  to  allure  his  customers. 

'  "  Move  potshtenie  !  "  (your  most  obedient  servant,  sir),  he  called 
out  to  a  gentleman  at  a  little  distance  who  was  not  thinking  of  him  and 
his  ice,  "what  is  your  pleasure?  ready  directly  !  Oh  !  how  hot  it  is 
to-day  ;  one  wants  something  to  cool  one  !  How  !  you  will  take 
vanilla?  What— nothing  !  I  am  very,  very  sorry  !  Moroshniye, 
moroshniye  !  sami  svasheye  !  ice,  ice,  the  freshest,  the  coolest. 
Chocolate,  vanilla,  coffee,  rose-ice,  all  of  the  very  best,  who  tastes  my 
exquisite  ice— my  flower-bloom?"  (so  he  called  one  particular  ice.) 
"  My  ice  is  like  a  poppy  ;  come,  my  loveliest  girl,  will  you  taste  my 
poppy  ice  ?  "  (The  girls  of  Little  Russia  wear  in  spring  a  number  of 
showy  poppies  in  their  hair.)  "  Taste  it  only  !  It  is  sweeter  than  the 
kiss  of  your  bridegroom.  You  like  it  mixed,  perhaps  ?  Good,  dearest, 
mixed  it  shall  be,  like  your  cheeks,  red  and  white — will  you  please  to 
taste  ?  " 

'  And  hereupon  he  hands  the  ice  temptingly  mingled  in  a  graceful 
tapering  mass  of  red  and  white.  The  girl  looks  embarrassed,  but  ends 
by  taking  the  wooden  spoon  he  flourishes  in  his  right  hand,  and  eating 
the  offered  delicacy.  "Zvatni  zvetot."  "Blooming  flower,  poppy 
bloom,  vanilla  blossom,  coffee  blossom  !  Who  will  take  my  most 
delicious  ice  ?  See  here,  my  good  old  father,  red,  red  as  a  rose,  and 
yellow  as  gold.  Ah  !  you  simpleton,  give  your  copper  for  my  gold." 
(Here  he  puts  a  little  in  a  glass  and  holds  it  in  the  sun.)  "  Ah  !  how 
superb  !  How  I  should  like  to  eat  it  myself !  But  I  am  not  rich 
enough.  I  can't  afford  it.  Come,  father,  buy  some  of  it,  and  then  I 
can  have  a  taste.  There,  take  it,  father,  and  much  good  may  it  do 
you  !  For  your  little  son  as  well  ?  Moroshniye  !  Ugh,  how  hot  it  is  ! 
I  am  half  melted.  I  must  have  some  ice."  He  then  tastes  a  little, 
turns  up  his  eyes,  and  raises  his  shoulders  as  if  it  were  pure  ambrosia. 
"Ha!  good  mother,  what  are  you  gaping  at?  Does  it  make  your 
mouth  water  ?  Truly  I  cannot  bear  to  see  you  there  melting  in  the 
sun  before  my  eyes.  There,  try  it."  And  he  holds  out  his  wooden 
spoon  with  a  sample.  The  old  woman  laughs,  must  taste,  and  cannot 
get  off  under  eight  kopecks.  And  then  the  tempter  begins  his  strain 
again,  which  is  scarcely  ended  when  the  sun  has  already  ended  his 
course  for  the  day.' — Kohl. 


296  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Moscow  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  headquarters  of 
the  many  strange  religious  sects  which  have  diverged  from 
the  Russian  Church,  of  which  there  are  three  million 
members,  besides  'Old  Believers,'  who  number  seven 
millions.  Archbishop  Dimitri,  of  Rostof,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  wrote  a  book  upon  these  sects,  of 
which  he  mentions  no  less  than  two  hundred.  Many  of 
these,  however,  are  now  extinct.  Amongst  the  strangest  of 
the  newer  sects  which  exist  here  are  the  Begslovestnie  or 
dumb  !  Anyone  who  joins  them  becomes  dumb  from  that 
moment,  and  nothing  will  ever  force  a  syllable  from  his 
lips.  Pestel,  the  governor-general  of  Siberia  under  Cathe- 
rine II.,  tortured  them  in  the  most  horrible  manner,  but 
they  never  uttered  a  sound.1  Almost  equally  silent  are  the 
Sect  of  the  Beatified  Redeemer,  who  live  constantly  absorbed 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  holy  portrait,  which  is  supposed 
to  produce  heavenly  bliss  and  ecstasy.  The  Sect  of  the 
Subotniki  (Sabbatarians),  commonly  regarded  as  wizards, 
was  begun  at  Novogorod  as  early  as  1470,  under  the  Jew 
Zacharias,  of  KierT,  who  persuaded  certain  priests  that  the 
law  of  Moses  was  the  only  Divine  law. 

The  jewellers  of  Moscow  mostly  belong  to  the  strange 
sect  of  the  Skoptzi,  who  believe  that  Christ  never  died,  but 
wanders  constantly,  without  sex,  and  in  different  forms,  over 
the  earth.  Many  of  them  believe  that  he  assumes  the  form 
of  Peter  III.,  whom  they  also  declare  never  to  have  died  as 
recorded  (in  the  Catherine  II.  revolution),  but  to  have  fled 
to  Irkutsk,  and  they  all  make  a  point  of  possessing  his  por- 
trait, with  a  black  beard  and  a  blue  caftan  trimmed  with 

'  Haxthausen, 


RELIGIOUS  SECTS.  297 

fur.  Soon,  they  say,  he  will  come  again,  and  sound  the 
great  bell  of  the  Uspenski  Sobor,  that  his  disciples,  the 
Skoptzi,  may  assemble  around  him,  and  inaugurate  their 
everlasting  empire  over  the  world.  They  do  not  believe  in 
the  resurrection  of  the  body,  or  recognise  Sunday  ;  but  they 
have  a  mystic  communion  through  bread,  sanctified  by  the 
grave  of  one  of  theifr  saints,  of  which  each  person  eats  a 
morsel  on  Easter  Day.  The  Skoptzi  are  all  eunuchs,  but 
they  adopt  children.  They  call  themselves  Korablik,  which 
signifies  a  small  vessel  tossed  by  the  waves.  At  their  meet- 
ings they  sing  such  songs  as — 

4  Hold  fast,  ye  mariners  ; 
Let  not  the  ship  perish  in  the  storm  ! 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  with  us  ! 
Fear  not  the  breakers,  fear  not  the  storm  ! 
Our  Father  and  Christ  is  with  us  ! 
His  mother,  Akulina  Ivanovna,  is  with  us  ! 
He  will  come  !     He  will  appear  ! 
He  will  sound  the  great  bell  of  Uspenski  ! 
He  will  collect  all  true  believers  together  ! 
He  will  plant  masts  that  shall  not  fall  ! 
He  will  set  sails  that  shall  not  be  rent  ! 
He  will  give  us  a  rudder  that  will  steer  us  safely  ! 
He  is  near  us,  He  is  with  us  ! 
He  casts  his  anchor  in  a  safe  harbour  ! 
We  are  landed  !     We  are  landed  ! 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  with  us  ! 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  among  us  ! 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  in  us  ! ' 

But  the  strangest  of  all  the  sects  which  prevail  in  Moscow 
is  that  of  the  Khlistovstchina — the  Jumpers  or  Flagellators, 
who  meet  to  dance  and  scourge  themselves,  after  which 
convulsions  often  ensue,  in  which  '  the  spirit  moves  them 

1  See  Haxthausen. 


298  STUDIES  TN  RUSSIA. 

and  they  begin  to  prophesy.'  Their  meetings  are  said  to  be 
followed  by  terrible  orgies. 

'  On  one  day  in  the  year  the  men,  after  their  mad  jumping  and 
stamping^  sink  down  about  midnight  upon  benches,  which  are  placed 
around,  and  the  women  fall  under  the  benches  ;  suddenly  all  the  lights 
are  extinguished,  and  horrible  orgies  commence.  They  call  this 
svatni  grekh— sins  committed  in  running  round  together.  A  secretary 
of  mine  in  Moscow,  who  had  opportunities  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  members  of  the  sect,  described  the  Klisti  or  Klistovstchina  as  by 
no  means  harmless,  but  an  extremely  cruel  sect.  Among  other  things, 
he  related  that  on  Easter  night  the  Skoptzi  and  Klisti  all  assemble  for 
a  great  solemnity,  the  worship  of  the  Mother  of  God.  A  virgin  fifteen 
years  of  age,  whom  they  have  induced  to  act  the  part  by  tempting 
promises,  is  bound,  and  placed  in  a  tub  of  warm  water  :  some  old 
women  come  and  first  make  a  large  incision  in  the  left  breast,  then  cut 
it  off,  and  staunch  the  blood  in  a  wonderfully  short  time.  During  the 
operation  a  mystical  picture  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  put  into  the  victim's 
hand,  in  order  that  she  may  be  absorbed  in  regarding  it.  The  breast 
which  has  been  removed  is  laid  upon  a  plate,  and  cut  into  small  pieces, 
which  are  eaten  by  all  the  members  of  the  sect  present  :  the  girl  in  the 
tub  is  then  placed  upon  an  altar  which  stands  near,  and  the  whole 
congregation  dance  wildly  round  it,  singing  at  the  same  time — 

Po  pliaskhom  !  Up  and  dance  ! 

Po  gorakhom  !  Up  and  jump  ! 

Na  Sionskvyn  Goru  !     Towards  Sion's  hill  ! 

The  jumping  grows  wilder  and  wilder  :  at  last  all  the  light?  are  suddenly 
extinguished,  and  the  orgies  above  described  commence.  My  secretary 
had  become  acquainted  with  several  of  these  girls,  who  were  always 
afterwards  regarded  as  sacred,  and  said  that  at  the  age  of  nineteen  or 
twenty  they  looked  quite  like  women  of  fifty  or  sixty.  They  generally 
died  before  their  thirtieth  year  ;  one  of  them,  however,  had  married 
and  had  two  children.' — Haxthatisen,  '  The  Russian  Empire.'1 

Besides  these  minor  sects,  Moscow  is  the  headquarters 
of  the  Raskolniks,1  the  old  religionists,  who  maintain  the 

1  From  ras,  asunder,  and  kolot,  to  split. 


THE  RASKOLNIKS.  299 

forms  and  observances  of  the  ancient  Russian  Church  in 
opposition  to  the  reforms  of  Nikon,  and  still  more  to  those 
of  Peter  the  Great. 

'  They  assert  that  with  Peter  I.  commenced  the  dominion  of  Antichrist 
over  the  world,  since  which  time  there  have  been  no  real  bishops  and 
priests,  this  being  the  night  before  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  in  which 
sacraments  are  no  longer  necessary,  except  baptism,  which  every 
believing  father  of  a  family  can  administer.  Is  it  not  written  in  the 
Bible,  they  say,  that  Antichrist  would  change  the  times  and  seasons  ; 
and  did  not  Peter  I.  transpose  the  New  Year  from  the  1st  of  September 
to  the  1st  of  January  ?  Did  he  not  abolish  the  designation  of  time  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world,  and  adopt  that  of  the  Latin  heretics,  who 
count  the  years  from  the  birth  of  Christ  ?  Is  it  not  written  that  Anti- 
christ will  demand  gold  and  payment  from  the  dead,  and  did  not 
Peter  I.  introduce  this  custom  in  the  Revisions  ?  It  was  perfect  blas- 
phemy to  tax  the  soul— the  immortal  breath  of  God — instead  of  worldly 
possessions. ' — Haxthausen. 

Of  the  ancient  faith,  the  beard,  'commanded  by  the 
Levitical  law,'  was  one  of  the  most  distinguishing  character- 
istics, and  to  this  day  no  Raskolnik  has  a  shaven  chin.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  the  Council  of  Moscow  pronounced 
that  to  shave  a  beard  '  was  a  sin  which  even  the  blood  of 
martyrs  could  not  expiate.' 1  It  was  petitioned  against  a 
patriarch,  whom  Peter  the  Great  wished  to  appoint  in  1690, 
that  '  his  beard  was  not  long  enough  for  a  patriarch.'  Peasants 
forced  to  cut  off  their  beards  used  to  keep  them  to  be  buried 
with  them,  for  fear  '  they  should  not  be  recognised  at  the 
gates  of  Paradise  ; '  though  for  the  actual  beard  a  coin  was 
afterwards  substituted,  bearing  a  face,  with  moustache  and 
beard.  The  Raskolniks,  who  consider  it  mortal  sin  to  bless 
with  three  fingers  instead  of  two,2  consider  it  equally  mortal 

1  Strahl,  282. 

2  Kohl  gives  an  amusing  story  illustrating  the  importance  of  the  three  fingers  to 
the  Russian  mind.     '  I  had  been  speaking  of  different  subjects  with  an  old  Greek 


300  STUDIES  IA7  RUSSIA. 

sin  to  pronounce  the  name  of  Jesus  in  three  syllables  instead 
of  two.  The  monks  of  Solovetsk  protested  that  the  change 
from  Isus  to  lisus  was  a  sin  too  fearful  even  to  be  thought  of, 
and  for  seven  years  successfully  defied  patriarch,  council,  and 
tsar.  The  course  of  the  sun,  say  the  Raskolniks,  indicates 
sufficiently  that  the  course  of  processions  must  be  from  left 
to  right.  To  eat  potatoes  is  heresy,  for  are  they  not  the 
forbidden  fruit  of  paradise  ?  Tobacco  is  even  more  abomi- 
nable. Peter  the  Great  asked  them  if  smoking  was  worse 
than  brandy.  '  Certainly,'  was  the  answer,  *  for  is  it  not 
written  that  not  that  which  goeth  into  a  man,  but  that 
which  cometh  out,  defileth  him  ? ' 

Everything  ecclesiastical  that  is  '  old,'  that  is  before  the 
time  of  the  reformer  Nikon,  is  sacred  to  the  Raskolniks. 
They  are  devoted  to  the  Tsar,  but  it  is  to  the  Tsar  with  whom 
they  are  familiar  in  ancient  pictures,  not  to  the  existing 
emperor. 

'  One  of  the  Starovertzi,  who  refuse  an  oath,  was  taken  as  a  recruit ; 
when  called  upon  to  swear  fidelity  to  his  colours,  he  refused.  "  Why 
will  you  not  ? "  "  My  religion  forbids  me,"  was  the  reply,  "  but  even 
were  it  allowed,  I  would  not  take  the  oath  to  him  whom  you  call 
Emperor  ;  I  would  only  do  to  the  real,  the  White  Tsar.  Our  books  and 
pictures  contain  his  true  likeness,  with  the  crown  upon  his  head,  the 
sceptre  and  imperial  globe  in  his  hands,  and  clothed  in  a  long  gold 
robe  ;  but  this  Emperor  wears  a  hat  and  uniform,  and  has  a  sword  at 

fisherman  on  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  came  at  last  to  the  differences  in 
religious  belief.  After  sundry  remarks  on  the  subject,  my  companion  expressed  his 
sentiment  thus  :  "  The  only  true  Christians  are  those  of  the  Greek  Church.  That 
is  evident.  For  what  is  Christianity?  It  is  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  the  three  fingers 
mean  the  Holy  Trinity.  We  make  the  cross  in  the  only  right  way  with  three  fingers. 
The  Lutherans  don't  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  at  all.  I  won't  say  that  they  are 
heathens  exactly,  but  there  is  very  little  Christianity  in  them.  And  the  Catholics, 
my  God  !  "—and  here  he  burst  into  an  immoderate  fit  of  laughter—"  they  make  the 
cross  with  thumps  and  punches  in  the  ribs  !  "  He  could  hardly  recover  himself  from 
the  excess  of  his  mirth  at  the  folly  of  the  wrong-believing  Catholics.' — Travels  in 
Russia. 


THE  RASKOLNIKS.  301 

his  side  like  a  common  soldier  ;  he  is  like  ourselves,  he  is  not  the  true 
Tsar."  The  enforcement  of  the  oath  was  afterwards  abandoned  in  the 
case  of  these  people.' — Haxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire.'' 

All  the  reforms  of  Nikon  and  the  edicts  of  Peter  the 
Great  appear  as  devices  of  Satan  to  Raskolniks,  most  of 
all  the  new  calendar,  for  the  world  could  not  have  been 
created  in  January,  as  Eve  would  not  have  found  an  apple 
to  eat  at  that  season  !  Persecuted  in  Russia  by  the  Ortho- 
dox Church  (which  followed  Nikon  and  Peter),  the  noncon- 
formists fled  to  other  countries.  Many  took  refuge  in  the 
forests  of  the  north  ;  others,  when  they  were  unable  to  escape, 
set  fire  to  their  houses  and  monasteries,  and  perished  in  the 
flames.  Two  thousand  seven  hundred  died  thus  in  1687  in 
the  Paleostrofski  monastery. 

Under  Catherine  II.  the  Raskolniks  were  permitted  to 
return  to  their  homes,  and  since  her  time  they  have  been 
allowed  to  follow  their  own  devices,  on  condition  of  their 
never  failing  to  contribute  to  the  income  of  the  regular 
parish  priests,  just  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  faithful.  In 
later  times  the  schismatics  have  divided  into  the  Staro- 
obriadtsi,  or  Old  Ritualists,  who  retain  the  ancient  ecclesi- 
astical observances,  employing  priests,  and,  as  soon  as  they 
can  procure  them,  bishops,  who  have  formally  renounced 
the  Nikonian  errors  ;  and  the  Bez-popoftsi,  or  priestless 
people,  who  maintain  that  as  the  priests  of  schismatics  are 
not  duly  consecrated,  their  sacraments  have  ceased  to  be 
efficacious.  Eventually  these  became  subdivided  into  the 
Pomortsi,  or  Dwellers  by  the  Sea  (i.e.  the  White  Sea),  who 
accepted  the  Tsar,  and  prayed  for  him,  and  paid  their  taxes  ; 
and  the  utterly  irreconcilable  Theodosians,  who  took  their 
name  from  a  fanatic  peasant  leader,  and  refused  to  regard 


302  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  Tsar  as  other  than  Antichrist.  With  these,  as  they  had 
no  consecrated  priests,  marriage  was  long  considered  impos- 
sible. Their  strangest  representatives  were  the  Stranniki, 
or  Wanderers,  who  consider  they  must  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come  by  being  homeless  and  houseless,  and  especially 
by  dying  in  the  open  air. 

Those  who  are  interested  in  the  Russian  dissenters  will 
not  fail  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Transfiguration  Cemetery— Preo- 
brajesnkoye  Kladbistche— and  its  neighbourhood.1 

*  There  are  some  hundreds  of  the  Starovers  or  dissenters  at  Moscow, 
who,  since  the  reign  of  Catherine  II.,  have  intrenched  themselves  in 
two  or  three  large  settlements  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  Let  us 
follow  them  thither.  A  visit  to  one  such  community  will  give  us  an 
adequate  impression  of  all.  Beyond  the  outermost  barrier  of  Moscow 
we  find  ourselves  on  the  edge  of  the  primeval  forest,  which  here  comes 
up  almost  to  the  town  itself.  An  intricate  road  through  lanes  or  gullies, 
worthy  of  the  days  before  the  deluge  of  Peter's  changes,  brings  us  to  a 
wild  scattered  village,  the  village  of  Preobajensk,  or  the  "  Transfigura- 
tion." It  is  celebrated  as  the  spot  to  which  Peter  in  his  youth  withdrew 
from  Moscow,  and  formed  out  of  his  companions  the  nucleus  of  what 
has  since  become  the  Imperial  Guard,  who  from  this  origin  are  called 
the  Preobajensky  regiment.  But  there  is  no  vestige  of  Peter  or  the 
Imperial  Guard  in  what  now  remains.  A  straggling  lake  extends  itself 
right  and  left  into  the  village,  in  which  the  Raskolniks  baptise  those 
who  come  over  to  them  from  the  Established  Church.  On  each  side 
of  it  rise,  out  of  the  humble  wooden  cottages,  two  large  silk  factories, 
the  property  of  the  chief  amongst  the  dissenters  ;  for  they  number 
amongst  their  members  many  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  (as 
amongst  the  Quakers)  there  is  a  strong  community  of  commercial 
interests  in  the  sect,  which  contributes  much  to  its  vitality,  and  main- 
tains the  general  respectability  of  the  whole  body.  Hard  by,  within 
the  walls  as  of  a  fortress,  two  vast  inclosures  appear.  These  are  their 

1  A  careful  bargain  should  always  be  made  with  a  drosky  driver;  and  the  Moscow 
droskys  are  such  a  tight  fit  for  two,  that  the  best  way  is  to  give  a  signal  and  for  both 
to  sit  down  at  the  same  moment ;  there  is  at  least  the  advantage  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  one  to  be  shaken  out  without  the  other.  These  difficulties  conquered 
there  are  many  drives  to  be  taken. 


THE  RASKOLNIKS.  303 

two  main  establishments  — one  for  men,  the  other  for  women.  For  in 
this  respect  also  they  exhibit  a  type  of  the  ancient  Russian  life,  in 
which  the  seclusion  of  the  women  was  almost  Oriental  in  its  character. 
Within  the  establishment  for  men  stand  two  buildings  apart.  The 
first  is  a  church  belonging  to  the  moderate  section  of  the  Starovers  ; 
those  namely  who  retain  still  so  much  regard  to  the  Established  Church 
as  to  be  willing  to  receive  from  them  ordained  priests.  The  clergy  who 
seceded  in  the  original  movement  of  course  soon  died  out,  and  hence- 
forth the  only  way  of  supplying  the  want  was  by  availing  themselves  of 
priests  expelled  from  the  Established  Church  for  misconduct,  and  of 
late  years  they  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  secure  from  the  metro- 
politan of  the  Orthodox  Greeks  in  Hungary  the  loan  of  a  bishop,  who 
has  continued  to  them  a  succession  of  new  priests.  But  there  has  also 
been  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Government  and  the  clergy  to 
incorporate  them  to  a  certain  extent,  by  allowing  them  a  regular  priest 
of  the  Establishment,  who  is  permitted  to  conform  to  their  usages ;  and 
not  long  ago  a  considerable  step  was  taken  by  the  metropolitan,  who 
agreed  to  consecrate  a  part  of  the  church  never  consecrated  before, 
himself  in  some  particulars,  as  in  the  order  of  the  procession,  adopting 
their  peculiar  customs.  Even  to  this  church  of  Occasional  Conformists, 
as  they  may  be  called,  the  studious  exclusion  of  all  novelty  gives  an 
antique  appearance,  the  more  remarkable  from  its  being  in  fact  so  new. 
Built  in  the  reign  of  Catherine  II. ,  it  yet  has  not  a  single  feature  that  is 
not  either  old,  or  an  exact  copy  of  what  was  old.  The  long  meagre 
figures  of  the  saints,  the  ancient  form  of  benediction,  the  elaborately 
minute  representations  of  the  sacred  history,  most  of  them  collected  by 
richer  dissenters  from  family  treasures  or  dissolved  convents,  are  highly 
characteristic  of  the  plus  qttam  restoration  of  mediaeval  times.  The 
chant,  too,  at  once  carries  one  back  two  hundred  years.  The  church 
resounds,  not  with  the  melodious  notes  of  modern  Russian  music,  but 
with  the  nasal,  almost  puritanical,  screech  which  prevailed  before  the 
time  of  Nikon,  which  is  believed  by  them  to  be  the  "sole  orthodox, 
harmonious,  and  angelical  chant."  But  the  principle  of  the  Old 
Believers  admits  of  a  more  significant  development.  Within  a  stone's- 
throw  of  the  church  which  I  have  just  described  is  a  second  building, 
nominally  an  almhouse  or  hospital  for  aged  dissenters,  but,  in  fact,  a 
refuge  for  the  more  extreme  members  of  the  sect,  who,  in  their  excessive 
wrath  against  the  Reformed  Establishment,  have  declined  to  receive  even 
runaway  priests  from  its  altars,  and  yet,  in  their  excessive  adherence  to 
traditional  usage;  have  not  ventured  to  consecrate  any  for  themselves. 
As  the  moderate  Raskolniks  are  called  "  Popofchins"  or  "  those  with 


304  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

clergy,"  so  these  are  called  "  Bezpopofchins "  or  "those  without 
clergy."  It  is  a  division  analogous  to  that  of  the  Lutherans  and  Cal- 
vinists  in  the  German,  of  the  Presbyterians  and  Independents  m  the 
English,  Reformation.  Accordingly,  the  service  of  the  extreme  dis- 
senters is  conducted  by  laymen,  just  so  far  as,  and  no  farther  than, 
could  be  performed  without  an  altar  and  without  a  priest.  Their  only 
link  with  the  National  Church  consists  in  their  retention  of  a  few 
particles  of  consecrated  oil,  and  of  consecrated  elements,  preserved  by 
constant  dilution.  The  approaches  of  their  milder  brethren  to  the 
Establishment  they  regard,  naturally,  as  a  base  compromise  with 
Babylon.  In  many  respects  the  ritual  of  the  two  sects  is  the  same. 
In  both  buildings  alike  we  see  the  same  gigantic  faces,  the  same 
antique  forms.  But,  unlike  the  chapel  of  the  Popofchins,  or  any 
church  of  the  Establishment,  the  screen  on  which  these  pictures  hang, 
the  iconostasis,  is  not  a  partition  opening  into  a  sanctuary  beyond,  but 
is  the  abrupt  and  undisguised  termination  of  the  church  itself.  You 
advance,  thinking  to  pass,  as  in  the  ordinary  churches,  through  the 
painted  screen  to  the  altar,  and  you  find  that  you  are  stopped  by  a  dead 
wall.  In  front  of  this  wall— this  screen  which  is  not  a  screen— an  aged 
layman,  with  a  long  sectarian  beard,  chanted  in  a  cracked  voice  such 
fragments  of  the  service  as  are  usually  performed  by  the  deacon  ;  and 
from  the  body  of  the  church  a  few  scattered  worshippers  screamed  out 
the  responses,  bowing  the  head  and  signing  the  cross  in  their  peculiar 
way  as  distinctly  as  so  slight  a  difference  will  admit.  That  scanty  con- 
gregation, venerable  from  its  very  eccentricity,  that  worship  in  the  dim 
light  of  the  truncated  church,  before  the  vacant  wall  which  must  con- 
stantly remind  them  of  the  loss  of  the  very  part  of  the  ceremonial  which 
they  consider  most  essential,  is  the  signal  of  all  triumphs  of  the  letter 
that  kills  over  the  spirit  that  quickens  ;  a  truly  Judaic  faith,  united  with 
a  truly  Judaic  narrowness,  such  as  no  Western  nation  could  hope  to 
produce.  It  shows  us  the  legitimate  conclusion  of  those  who  turn 
either  forms,  or  the  rejection  of  forms,  into  principles,  and  of  carrying 
out  principles  so  engendered  to  their  full  length.' — Stanley,  f  7^he 
Eastern  Church.' 

The  Starovertzi  are  in  general  more  simple,  sober,  and 
moral  than  other  Russian  peasants.  They  can  usually  read 
and  write,  but  they  only  know  the  old  Slavonic  letters,  for 
they  regard  modern  Russian  writing  as  heretical.  They 
know  the  Bible  almost  by  heart,  and  are  fond  of  theological 


THE   GERMAN  SUBURB.  305 

subtleties.     In  a  dialogue  with  a  Starovertz,  he  thus  gave 
his  reasons  for  his  opinions  : — • 

'  It  is  clear  from  the  New  Testament  that  whatever  in  the  law  of 
Moses  has  not  been  expressly  abolished  by  Christ  continues  binding 
upon  Christians. 

'  But  the  Ten  Commandments  incontestably  belong  to  those  laws 
which  are  retained  ;  and  it  stands  written  in  the  same  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Leviticus  in  which  the  Ten  Commandments  are  expounded — 
"  Ye  shall  not  round  the  corners  of  your  heads,  neither  shalt  thou  mar 
the  corners  of  thy  beard."  ' l 

Alexander  I.  protected  and  showed  kindness  to  the 
Raskolniks,  and  since  his  time  they  have  enjoyed  religious 
freedom. 

The  father  of  Peter's  famous  favourite  Mentchikoff,  who 
had  served  in  the  Guard,  is  buried,  with  his  wife,  at  Preo- 
brajenskoye. 

In  going  to  Preobrajenskoye  the  German  Suburb  is 
passed  through,  where  the  young  Duke  John  of  Denmark, 
who  died  when  he  came  to  be  married  to  the  beautiful 
and  unfortunate  Xenie,  daughter  of  Boris  Godunof,  was 
buried  in  the  church.  His  body  was  afterwards  moved  to 
Roskilde  in  Denmark.  It  was  here  that  Peter  the  Great 
used  so  often  to  dine  and  drink,  act  best  man  at  the  mar- 
riages of  the  merchants'  daughters,  and  stand  godfather 
to  their  children.  In  this  suburb,  also,  was  the  home  of 
his  mistress,  Anna  Mons,  daughter  of  a  German  jeweller. 
Preobrajenskoye  was  the  favourite  residence  of  Peter,  and 
from  that  place  of  prophetic  name  (Transformation) 2  he 
subdued  the  power  of  Sophia,  and  seized  the  reins  of 
government.  He  established  here  the  secret  '  Chancery  of 

1  Sec  Haxthausen.  2  Rambaud. 


3o6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Preobrajenskoye,'  a  torture-chamber  outrivalling  the  iniqui- 
ties of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  ;  and,  apart  from  this,  the  life 
which  he  led  here,  and  the  earliest  of  his  so-called  'reforms  ' 
dated  from  hence,  had,  by  offending  the  national  prejudices, 
made  him  endless  enemies. 

'  Des  pretres  enseignaient  deja  que  1'Antechrist  etait  ne  ;  il  etait  clit 
en  effet  que  1'Antechrist  naitrait  d'une  adultere  ;  or,  Pierre  etait  fils  de  la 
seconde  epouse  d'Alexis  ;  sa  mere  Natalie  etait  \z.fausse  vierge,  la  femme 
adultere  des  proprieties.  Les  charges  de  plus  en  plus  lourdes  qui 
pesaient  sur  le  peuple  etaient  un  autre  signe  que  les  temps  etaient 
venus.  D'autres,  revokes  du  gout  que  manifestait  le  tsar  pour  les  habits 
allemands,  les  langues  etrangeres,  les  aventuriers  du  dehors,  affirmaient 
qu'il  n'etait  pas  le  fils  d'Alexis,  mais  celui  de  Lefort  le  Genevois,  ou 
qu'il  etait  ne  d'un  chirurgien  allemand.  Us  se  scandalisaient  de  voir  un 
tsar  s'exposer  aux  gourmades  dans  ses  aimisements  militaires  comme  un 
autre  Gregori  Otrepief.  Le  has  peuple  etait  indigne  de  voir  proscrire 
les  longues  barbes  et  les  longs  vetements  nationaux,  les  raskolniks  de 
voir  autoriser  "1'infection  sacrilege  du  tabac  "  !  Le  voyage  d'Occiden 
acheva  de  troubler  les  esprits  et  les  cceurs.  Avait-on  jamais  vu  un  tsar 
de  Moscou  sortir  de  la  sainte  Russie  pour  courir  les  royaumes  des 
etrangers?' — Rambatid,  '•Hist,  de  la  Russie.'' 

A  short  distance  out  of  Moscow  on  the  Tver  road  is  the 
Palace  of  Petrofski,  built  in  the  bastard  Gothic  of  the  end 
of  the  last  century.  It  is  seldom  inhabited  now,  except  by 
the  sovereigns,  coming  for  their  coronations,  before  they 
make  their  public  entry  into  the  town.  Hither  Napoleon  I. 
fled  from  the  Kremlin  when  Moscow  was  burning. 

The  Park  of  Petrofski,  as  well  as  that  of  Soloniki,  is 
much  resorted  to  on  popular  festivals.  The  dances  of  the 
gipsies,  accompanied  by  the  music  of  the  balalaika,  and 
clapping  of  hands,  may  then  be  seen,  but  there  is  little 
grace  in  the  Russian  gipsies,  who  dance  for  money,  and 
much'  coarseness  and  vulgarity.  The  so-called  gipsy  songs 


THE   SPARROW  HILLS.  307 

are  here  little  better  than  shrill  hootings,  and  their  imperti- 
nence of  manner,  combined  with  their  banging  of  guitars, 
and  their  discordant  voices,  is  only  calculated  to  excite 
disgust. 

A  more  interesting  drive  to  strangers  is  that  to  the 
Sparrow  Hills— Vorobyovy  Gory.  It  leads  through  the 
Lamenloi  Gorod — the  southern  part  of  the  town,  beyond 
the  Moskva — the  quarter  most  destroyed  by  fire  during  the 
French  occupation — by  gay  churches  with  veils  of  metal,  by 
huge  barracks,  and  then  by  gardens  of  fruit  and  gourds. 
Hence  there  is  a  long  dusty  ascent,  where  the  terrific  pave- 
ment, which  has  almost  jolted  you  to  a  jelly,  gives  place  to 
deep  ruts  and  clouds  of  dust.  At  the  top  of  the  hill — the 
favourite  place  of  the  Moscovites,  a  sort  of  Richmond — are 
a  series  of  wooden  restaurants,  with  people  eternally  drink- 
ing tea,  and  a  little  churchyard,  with  a  lovely  view  of  the 
wooded  bend  of  the  river,  and  of  the  distant  town,  seen 
beyond  the  great  enclosure  of  the  Novo  Devichi  monastery, 
and  the  Devichi-pole,  or  Maiden's  Field,  where  the  feasts  of 
the  people  are  held  at  coronations.  This  is  the  '  Hill  of 
Salutation,'  whence  the  French  first  beheld  the  city,  with 
shouts  of  '  Moscou  !  Moscou  ! '  According  to  the  popular 
belief,  Napoleon  was  struck  to  the  ground  with  awe  at  the 
sight  of  its  thousand  towers  ;  the  fact  being  that,  on  seeing 
it,  he  exclaimed,  '  There  is  the  famous  city  at  last  :  it  was 
high  time  ! '  The  same  sight  had  caused  dissensions  amongst 
the  Russian  generals  retreating  upon  Moscow  from  the 
battlefield  of  Borodino,  forty  miles  to  the  west,  on  which 
eighty  thousand  fell,  and  of  which  both  sides  claimed  the 
victory. 

x  2 


3o8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

1  Koutouzoff  reunit  un  conseil  de  guerre  sur  une  des  collines  qui 
dominent  Moscou,  et  la  vue  de  cette  grande  cite,  de  la  ville  sainte 
etendue  a  leurs  pieds  condamnee  peut-etre  a  perir,  causait  une  emotion 
mdicible  aux  generaux  russes.  La  seule  question  etait  celle-ci:  "  Fallait- 
il  essayer  de  sauver  Moscou  en  sacrifiant  la  derniere  armee  de  la  Russie  ?  " 
Barclay  declara  que  "quand  il  s'agissait  du  salut  de  la  Russie  et  de 
1'Europe,  Moscou  n'etait  qu'une  ville  comme  une  autre."  D'autres 
disaient,  comme  1'officier  d'artillerie  Grebbe :  "II  est  glorieux  de 
perir  sous  Moscou,  mais  ce  n'est  pas  de  gloire  qu'il  s'agit."  .  .  . 
Koutouzoff  ecouta  tous  les  avis  et  dit,  "  Ici  ma  tete,  qu'elle  soit  bonne 
ou  mauvaise,  ne  doit  s'aider  que  d'elle-meme,"  et  il  ordonna  de  com- 
mencer  la  retraite  a  travers  la  ville.  II  sentait  bien  cependant  que 
Moscou  n'etait  pas  "une  ville  comme  une  autre."  II  ne  voulut  pas  y 
entrer,  et,  pleurant,  il  passa  par  les  faubourgs.'— A.  Rambaud,  'Hist. 
dj  la  RussieS 

'Salute  Moscow  for  the  last  time,'  said  Rostopchine, 
the  governor  of  the  town,  to  his  son,  *  in  half  an  hour  you 
will  see  her  in  flames.'  Whilst  he  conducted  the  people  out 
of  the  city,  and  provided  them  with  shelter  in  the  neighbour- 
ing towns,  the  plan  he  had  devised  for  the  conflagration  was 
efficiently  carried  out.  In  all  the  principal  buildings,  except 
churches  and  hospitals,  he  had  left  bombshells  and  com- 
bustible materials,  releasing  three  hundred  criminals  from 
the  prisons,  and  placing  them  under  directors  each  to 
fire  a  certain  portion,  so  that  not  a  single  house  should 
escape.  The  nobles  had  all  left  servants  in  their  houses, 
with  orders  to  ignite  them,  all  earnestly  hoping  that  their 
ruined  homes  would  become  the  grave  of  the  invaders. 
'  Who  would  have  thought  that  a  nation  would  burn  its 
own  capital  ? '  said  Napoleon  afterwards.  '  Had  it  not 
been  for  that,  I  should  have  had  everything  my  army 
wanted — excellent  winter  quarters,  stores  of  all  kinds. 
Alexander  would  have  made  peace,  or  I  should  have  been 
at  St.  Petersburg.  Oh,  the  burning  of  Moscow  was  the 


EXILES   TO  SIBERIA.  309 

most  grand,  sublime,  and  terrific  sight  the  world  has  ever 
beheld  \ ' l 

Russian  exiles  condemned  to  Siberia  are  always  assembled 
at  Moscow.  Their  prisons  on  the  Sparrow  Hills  are  lofty, 
airy,  and  warm  in  winter,  and  their  food  is  good.  They  set 
out  from  hence  in  bands  every  Sunday  afternoon,  thus  taking 
their  leave  here  in  a  last  view  of  their  *  holy  mother  Mos- 
cow,' a  place  whose  hold  upon  Russian  sentiment  it  is  con- 
sidered impossible  for  a  foreigner  to  fathom.  They  journey 
from  eight  to  twelve  miles  a  day,  and  have  regular  sleeping- 
places.  They  only  carry  chains  of  four  pounds'  weight  upon 
their  hands  and  feet  on  their  march  ;  but  patriots,  murderers, 
thieves  and  conspirators,  are  all  chained  together.  Formerly 
about  sixty  thousand  exiles  to  Siberia  passed  through  Kazan; 
now  the  number  is  perhaps  ten  thousand.  About  fifteen 
per  cent,  still  probably  die  on  the  road,  but  formerly  only 
a  third  reached  their  destination.  If  a  prisoner,  however,  is 
well  off  and  can  pay  for  it,  he  may  often  travel  at  his  own 
expense  and  take  his  family  and  any  amount  of  luggage 
with  him,  but  in  this  case  he  must  always  pay  for  his  guards, 
who  are  never  less  than  five  in  number.  Legally,  a  Siberian 
exile  is  dead,  and  his  wife,  if  she  does  not  wish  to  accom- 
pany him,  may  marry  again.  The  exiles  are  allowed  to 
talk  to  one  another  on  their  journey  and  even  to  sing  their 
sad  wailing  choruses.  It  is  generally  arranged  that  they 
should  pass  through  the  towns  at  night,  but  universal  pity 
is  felt  for  them,  and  in  the  villages  which  lie  on  their  way, 
the  kind-hearted  peasantry  bring  out  bowls  of  tchai,  jugs 


1  '  Father  Paris,  you  shall  now  pay  for  Mother  Moscow,'  was  the  Russian  excla- 
mation when  the  French  capital  was  taken  by  the  allies.  For  the  story  of  the  French 
invasion  and  retreat,  the  War  of  Count  Leon  Tolstoi  may  be  read  with  interest. 


310  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

of  vodki)  and  piles  of  bread,  for  them  ;  all  this  is  done  in 
silence,  for  no  one  may  speak  to  a  prisoner. 

*  The  condition  of  Siberian  convicts,  when  arrived  and  settled  in 
the  country,  is  certainly  favourable.  The  severity  of  their  punishment 
consists  in  the  loss  of  home,  the  disruption  of  early  family  ties,  and  the 
dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  long  journey. 

'  In  Siberia,  the  ancient,  simple,  and  noble  patriarchal  manners 
still  prevail,  and  in  this  respect  it  is  still  the  veritable  old  Russia  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  term — there  is  the  greatest  hospitality  and  mutual 
goodwill. 

'  The  convicts  sent  out  as  colonists  are  mostly  transported  to  the 
districts  of  southern  Siberia,  which  are  described  by  all  who  have  seen 
them  as  truly  paradisaical.  The  country  is  romantically  beautiful,  the 
soil  incredibly  fertile,  and  the  climate  healthy ;  the  cold,  indeed,  is 
severe  in  winter,  but  with  a  perpetually  clear  sky  ;  and  nowhere  are 
there  so  many  vigorous  old  people.  The  peasants,  descended  from  the 
early  convicts,  are  all  very  well  off,  some  of  them  very  rich  ;  they  only 
require  industry,  good  behaviour,  and  exertion  for  a  few  years  to 
acquire  a  substantial  position.  Their  whole  outward  condition  is  from 
the  first  favourable  :  as  soon  as  they  arrive  in  Siberia,  their  past  life 
not  only  lies  like  a  dream  behind  them,  but  is  legally  and  politically 
completely  at  an  end  ;  their  crime  is  forgotten  ;  no  one  dares  to 
remind  them  of  it,  or  to  term  them  convicts  ;  both  in  the  public 
official  reports  and  in  conversation  they  are  only  termed  "  the  unfor- 
tunate." ' — Haxthausen,  ^The  Russian  Empire.'' 

Prettily  situated  on  the  Sparrow  Hills  is  Neskutchnaya, 
once  belonging  to  Count  Orloff,  and  presented  by  him  to 
the  Empress  Marie  Alexandrovna.  The  late  Empress, 
'  our  good  mother,'  as  the  people  called  her,  had  another 
favourite  residence  at  Ilyink,  thirty  miles  from  Moscow.  At 
Beleff,  eighty  versts  from  Moscow  in  this  direction,  died 
the  Empress  Elizabeth  Alexievna,  widow  of  Alexander  I. 

It  is  pleasant  to  linger  on  the  hills  and  enjoy  stakan  tchai 
and  fresh  rusks  and  butter  with  the  natives,  till  the  blue 
shadows  have  gathered  over  the  glorious  distant  city  and 


OSTANKINO.  311 

its  cathedrals,  and  rows  of  coloured  lights  at  the  tables  of 
the  little  restaurants  gleam  against  the  dark  trees. 

We  should  advise  all  visitors  to  Moscow  to  drive  out  to 
Ostankino,  on  the  west  of  the  city.  The  drive  takes  one 
through  the  suburbs,  which  melt  gradually  into  dusty 
hedgeless  roads,  leading  through  open  country  with  groves 
of  birch,  remnants  of  ancient  forest.  As  Moscow  cares 


OSTANKINO. 


for  no  road  beyond  the  limits  of  its  pavement,  the  ruts  are 
awful,  the  mud  appalling.  When  the  drosky  reaches  a  fear- 
ful bridge,  the  driver  calls  out  *  Nitchevo'  ('It  is  all  right'), 
makes  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  urges  his  horse  across  the 
creaking,  rocking  boards. 

'  On  ne  peut  appeler  route  un  champ  laboure,  un  gazon  raboteux, 
un  sillon  trace  dans  le  sable,  un  abime  de  fange,  borde  de  forets 
maigres  et  mal  venantes  ;  il  y  a  aussi  des  encaissements  de  rondins, 
longs  parquets  rustiques  ou  les  voitures  et  les  corps  se  brisent  en 


312  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

dansant  comme  sur  une  bascule,  tant  ces   grossieres  charpentes   on 
d'elasticite.     Voila  pour  les  chemins.' — M.  de  Custine. 

Ostankino  is  a  large  village,  with  a  well-proportioned 
palace,  built  of  painted  wood,  and  a  handsome  red  Russo- 
Saracenic  church,  on  the  shore  of  a  lake.  This  is  one  of 
the  principal  residences  of  the  Sheremetief  family,  said  to  be 
the  richest  subjects  in  Russia.  In  1806,  the  income  of 
Count  Sheremetief  was  800,000  roubles,  and  he  possessed 
150,000  male  serfs  and  300,000  souls.  Many  of 'these  pur- 
chased their  liberty  for  not  less  than  30,000  roubles.  Now 
the  abolition  of  serfs  and  the  division  of  family  property,  of 
which  even  every  daughter  takes  a  fourteenth  share,  has 
reduced  the  Sheremetief  income.  Of  this  family  was  the 
famous  Boyar,  Boris  Sheremetief,  the  great  traveller  of 
Peter  the  Great's  time  ;  l  Marshal  Sheremetief,  to  whom 
Peter  attributed  the  victory  of  Poltava ;  and  Natalia  Shere- 
metief, who  was  engaged  to  the  unfortunate  Prince  Ivan 
Dolgorouki,  who  was  sent  into  exile  on  the  death  of  Peter  II. 
She  was  so  warmly  attached  to  him  that,  in  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  her  family,  she  insisted  on  accompanying 
him  in  his  exile,  writing  afterwards,  in  1771  : — 

'  Just  think  what  consolation  or  honourable  advice  it  would  be  for 
me  to  marry  him  when  he  was  in  prosperity,  and  to  refuse  him  when 
he  was  unfortunate;  but  I  had  determined,  when  I  gave  my  heart  to 
another,  that  I  would  live  or  die  with  him,  and  allow  no  one  else  to 
have  a  share  of  my  love.  It  was  not  my  way  to  love  one  person  one 
day  and  another  the  next,  as  is  now  the  fashion  ;  but  I  showed  the 
world  that  I  could  be  faithful  in  love.  I  was  my  husband's  companion 
in  all  his  sufferings,  and  I  speak  the  entire  truth  when  I  assert  that,  in 
the  midst  of  my  misfortunes,  I  never  either  repented  of  my  marriage, 
nor  murmured  against  God.' 2 

1  His  journey  from  Moscow  to  Cracow  occupied  five  months  and  a  half ! 
•  Rouskii,  Archiv,  vol.  v.,  p.  15. 


OSTANKINO.  313 

But  the  sorrows  of  Natalia  did  not  end  in  Siberia. 
Solovief l  tells  how  slowly  and  with  what  feminine  hate  the 
vengeance  of  the  Empress  Anne  against  the  Dolgorouki  was 
accomplished.  First  they  were  exiled  to  their  estates  ;  then 
they  were  sent  to  Beresof,  far  in  Siberia ;  thence  they 
were  brought  back  to  the  torture.  Natalia  had  to  see  her 
husband  broken  alive  upon  the  wheel  at  Novogorod.  All 
her  jewels  were  confiscated  ;  she  had  nothing  but  her 
wedding-ring  with  which  to  bribe  the  executioner  to  put  a 
speedy  end  to  his  sufferings.  This  is  the  subject  of  a 
favourite  popular  song  : 

'  On  the  highway  it  is  not  a  merchant,  it  is  not  a  boyar  they  are 
leading,  it  is  the  Prince  Dolgorouki  himself.  On  the  right  and  the 
left  are  two  regiments  of  soldiers.  In  front  marches  the  terrible 
executioner.  Behind  follows  the  lady,  all  pale,  with  her  eyes  red. 

'  She  weeps  :  it  is  a  river  which  flows.  Her  tears  fall  :  it  is  a  wave 
which  rolls.  "  Do  not  weep,  my  lady,  lady  of  the  pale  face,  of  the 
red  eyes." 

'  "  How  can  I  help  weeping?  They  have  taken  away  my  peasants  : 
I  have  no  money  left :  I  have  nothing  but  my  ring,  but  my  ring  of 
gold." 

'  "  Give  the  ring,  O  give  the  ring  to  the  executioner,  that  he  may 
let  me  die  more  quickly."  ' 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Natalia  still  remained 
for  nearly  two  years  in  Siberia  with  her  two  children.  She 
became  a  nun  by  the  name  of  Nectaria  in  1758,  and  died  in 
1771. 

Russian  country  life  in  such  a  house  as  the  palace  of 
Ostankino,  or  in  many  smaller  houses,  is  only  usually  known 
to  strangers  through  translations  of  the  Russian  novels. 
The  novels  of  Ivan  Tourgueneff,  the  novelist  of  domestic 

1   Solovief  "s  History  of  Russia  to  the  Reign  of  Catherine  //.,  in  twenty-nine 
volumes,  is  full  of  interest,  but,  unfortunately,  has  never  been  translated. 


3 H  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

life — the  dullest  domestic  life — describe  many  such  houses. 
'  A  Society  of  Gentlefolks  in  the  Country,'  exactly  depicts 
the  life  in  such  a  house.  Gogol  (ob.  1852),  pourtrays  the 
sleepy,  good-humoured  self-indulgence  of  the  country  pro- 
prietor in  Staroovetski  Pomystchiki  ('  Proprietor  of  the 
Olden  Time).'  Describing  such  a  sleepy  Russian  country 
house  as  Ostankino,  he  tells  how  each  of  the  doors  had  a 
separate  sound  as  it  turned  on  its  hinges,  and  an  articula- 
tion for  those  who  could  comprehend  it.  A  picture  of 
the  life  of  a  great  Russian  noble — his  luxury,  parade,  and 
superstitions — is  given  in  the  '  Historical  Sketches  and 
Tales  '  of  M.  Shubinski. 

Returning  to  Moscow  from  Ostankino,  we  may  visit  a 
Hospital  on  the  north  of  the  boulevard  in  the  high  part  of 
the  town,  built  by  Prince  Michael  Sheremetief  for  a  hundred 
old  men  and  a  hundred  old  women. 

In  this  part  of  the  town  is  the  Passion  Monastery — 
Strasni  Monastir — with  a  tall  tower,  which  is  often  ascended 
for  the  view,  and  near  it  a  good  Statue  of  the  Russian  poet, 
Alexander  Pouchkine,  ob.  1837,  whose  best-known  works 
are  the  '  Prisoner  of  the  Caucasus  '  and  the  drama  of  '  Boris 
Godunof.'  The  boulevards  which  surround  the  Bielgorod, 
and  which  are  three  times  the  width  of  Portland  Place,  were 
made  by  the  Emperor  Paul. 

The  student  of  Russian  history  will  make  an  excursion 
to  Alexandrovsky,  86  miles,  or  107  versts,  from  Moscow,  in 
the  province  of  Vladimir,  intimately  interwoven  with  the 
story  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

'  Alexandrovsky  became  a  town  adorned  with  churches,  houses, 
and  shops  in  stone.  The  famous  Church  of  Our  Lady  glittered  ex- 
ternally with  brilliant  colours,  enriched  by  gold  and  silver  ;  on  every 


ALEXANDROVSKY.  315 

brick  a  cross  was  represented.  The  Tsar  inhabited  a  great  palace 
surrounded  by  a  moat  and  a  rampart ;  the  officers  of  his  court,  the 
civil  and  military  functionaries,  occupied  separate  houses  ;  the  guards 
had  their  particular  street,  and  so  had  the  merchants.  It  was  expressly 
forbidden  to  enter  or  go  out  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Tsar ;  and, 
to  carry  out  this  measure  of  surveillance,  a  cordon  of  guards  was  placed 
at  three  versts  from  the  palace.  In  this  threatening  castle,  surrounded 
by  dark  forests,  the  Tsar  gave  up  the  greater  part  of  his  time  to  the 
services  of  the  Church,  seeking  to  soothe  the  agitation  of  his  mind  by 
the  practices  of  devotion.  He  even  conceived  the  idea  of  transforming 
his  palace  into  a  monastery,  and  his  favourites  into  monks.  He  gave 
the  name  of  brothers  to  three  hundred  guards  chosen  amongst  the 
dregs  of  the  people,  took  the  title  of  abbot ',  and  then  instituted 
Athanasius  Viazemsky  treasurer,  and  Maluta  Skouratof  sacristan. 
After  having  distributed  ecclesiastical  caps  and  cassocks  to  them,  under 
which  they  wore  dresses  glittering  with  gold  and  fringed  with  marten's 
fur,  he  composed  the  Rule  of  the  convent,  and  gave  the  example  in  its 
strict  observance.  Listen  to  the  description  of  this  singular  monastic 
life.  At  three  in  the  morning  the  Tsar,  accompanied  by  his  children 
and  Skouratof,  went  to  ring  the  bell  for  matins  ;  all  the  brethren 
immediately  hastened  to  the  church,  and  if  anyone  failed  in  this  duty 
he  was  punished  by  eight  days  in  prison.  During  the  service,  which 
lasted  from  six  to  seven,  the  Tsar  chanted,  read,  and  prayed  with  such 
fervour  that  the  marks  of  his  prostrations  always  remained  upon  his 
forehead.  At  eight  o'clock  all  met  again  to  hear  mass  ;  and,  at  ten, 
everyone  sate  down  to  a  meal,  except  Ivan,  who  read  aloud,  standing, 
from  instructive  writings.  The  repast  was  abundant,  wine  and  hydro- 
mel  were  bounteously  supplied,  and  every  day  seemed  a  fete  day. 
The  remains  of  the  banquet  were  carried  to  the  public  square  to  be 
distributed  to  the  poor.  The  abbot— that  is,  the  Tsar — dined  after  the 
others ;  he  discoursed  with  his  intimates  on  religious  subjects,  then  he 
took  a  nap,  or  sometimes  went  to  the  prisons  to  order  some  unfor- 
tunates to  be  put  to  the  torture.  This  horrible  sight  seemed  to  amuse 
him  ;  he  came  back  every  time  with  a  face  radiant  with  satisfaction. 
He  joked  and  conversed  more  gaily  than  before.  At  eight  o'clock  all 
went  to  vespers.  Finally,  at  ten,  Ivan  retired  to  his  bedroom,  where, 
one  after  the  other,  three  blind  men  told  him  stories,  which  sent  him 
to  sleep  for  some  hours.  At  midnight  he  rose  and  began  his  day  by 
prayer.  Sometimes  reports  upon  the  affairs  of  the  government  were 
brought  to  him  in  church  ;  sometimes  the  most  sanguinary  orders  were 
given  during  the  chanting  of  matins,  or  during  mass.' — Karamsin,  ix. 


3i6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   MONASTERIES  NEAR   MOSCOW. 

THE  venerable  Doctors  known  as  the  Greek  Fathers 
are  S.  John  Chrysostom,  S.  Basil,  S.  Athanasius,  and 
S.  Gregory  Nazianzen.  Banished  from  religious  representa- 
tions in  the  West,  their  majestic  figures  meet  us  repeatedly 
in  the  sacred  art  of  Eastern  Christendom,  generally  with 
the  addition  of  a  fifth  figure,  that  of  S.  Cyril  of  Alexandria. 
In  Western  Christendom  they  are  only  represented  in 
places  where  Byzantine  artists  have  been  employed,  as  at 
S.  Mark's  at  Venice  and  Monreale  in  Sicily.  Of  the  Greek 
Fathers,  S.  Basil  is  the  one  whose  image  is  always  with  us 
in  Russian  travels,  represented  in  every  church,  sold  in 
every  icon-shop.  He  was  the  founder  of  monasticism  in  the 
East,  and  implicit  faith  is  placed  in  his  intercessory  powers. 
Armenian  Christians  believe  that  the  prayers  of  S.  Basil  can 
not  only  redeem  lost  souls  from  purgatory,  but  fallen  angels 
from  hell. 

There  is  no  book  in  English  or  French  which  will  enable 
an  English  traveller  to  study  the  labyrinthine  history  of  the 
saints  of  the  Greek  Church.  Most  of  those  who  will  meet  a 
Western  stranger  in  Russia  will  be  utterly  unfamiliar  to  him. 
How  few  know  anything,  for  instance,  of  the  S.  Dionysiijs 


THE   GREEK  CHURCH.  317 

so  constantly  celebrated  in  the  hymns  and  prayers  of 
the  church  services.  The  few  Greek  martyrs  accepted  by 
the  Latin  Church  are.:  S.  Pantaleon,  S.  Cyprian,  and  S. 
Phocas  ;  S.  Dorotea,  S.  Tecla,  S.  Justina,  S.  Apollonia,  and, 
more  especially,  S.  Euphemia  the  Great,  who  suffered  at 
Chalcedon  c.  307.  The  last  saint  placed  (1832)  in  the 
Russian  calendar  is  S.  Metrophanes,  bishop  of  Voronege  in 
the  time  of  Peter  the  Great. 

'  The  Oriental  or  Greek  Church  is  incontestably  the  most  ancient 
of  all  Christian  Churches.  At  the  Council  of  Sardis  in  Illyricum,  in  the 
year  347,  the  first  jealousies  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches 
broke  out,  though  a  total  separation  did  not  ensue  till  the  time  of 
Photius,  who  was  elected  patriarch  of  Constantinople  in  the  year  858 
by  the  Emperor  Michael,  in  the  place  of  Ignatius,  whom  that  prince  drove 
from  his  see.  Pope  Nicholas  took  part  with  the  exiled  patriarch,  con- 
demned the  election  as  unwarrantable,  and  excommunicated  Photius. 
Photius,  a  high-spirited  prelate,  and  the  most  learned  and  ingenious 
man  of  the  age  he  lived  in,  assembled  a  council  at  Constantinople,  and 
in  return  excommunicated  the  Pope.  From  this  period  the  opposition 
and  distinction  between  the  two  Churches  must  be  dated  ;  but  there  is 
the  strongest  historical  evidence  in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of  the 
Eastern.  It  is  well  known  that  the  first  Churches  were  those  of  Greece 
and  Syria  ;  we  have  no  proof  that  ,S.  Peter  was  ever  at  Rome,  but  we 
are  certain  he  was  a  long  time  in  Syria,  and  that  he  travelled  as  far  as 
Babylon.  Paul  was  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  and  his  works  were  written 
in  Greek  ;  all  the  Fathers  of  the  four  first  ages  down  to  Jerome  were  of 
Greece,  Syria,  and  Africa  ;  all  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Latin 
Church  testify  even  by  their  names  that  their  origin  was  Greek — ecclesi- 
astic^ Paraclete,  liturgy,  litany,  symbol,  Eticharist,  agape,  Epiphany — 
and  all  clearly  show  that  the  Western  Church  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Eastern.  It  may  be  granted  that  the  Roman  pontiff  had  acquired  a 
spiritual  establishment,  or  rather  a  temporal  jurisdiction,  before  the 
patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  perhaps  before  any  other  Oriental 
patriarch  ;  but,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  first  Christian  Church  or  society 
%vas  established  at  Jerusalem.' — King. 

John   Faber,    a  German   Dominican,    called    *  Malleus 


318  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Haereticorum,'  who  died  Bishop  of  Vienna  in   1541,  thus 
describes  the  Russian  Church  : — l 

'  The  Muscovites  follow  the  Christian  faith,  which,  they  say,  was 
first  preached  to  them  by  the  Apostle  S.  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Simon 
Peter.  Also  all  that  was  decreed  under  Constantine  the  Great  by  the 
three  hundred  and  eighteen  bishops  at  Nice  of  Bithynia,  in  the  first 
Nicene  Council,  and  all  the  tradition  and  teaching  of  Basil  the  Great 
and  S.  John  Chrysostom,  they  believe  to  be  so  sacred,  authoritative, 
and  authentic  that  it  has  never  been  lawful  for  any  to  depart  therefrom 
so  much  as  a  hair's  breadth,  any  more  than  from  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
itself.  And  such  is  their  sobermindedness  that  whatever  has  once 
been  decided  by  the  holy  fathers  in  their  councils  no  one  of  their  pro- 
fession ever  dares  to  make  a  question  of  it  afterwards.  But  if  any 
difficulty  either  about  faith  or  ritual  matters  arise,  it  is  all  referred  to 
the  archbishop  and  the  rest  of  the  bishops,  to  be  determined  solely  by 
their  judgment.  Nor  is  anything  left  to  the  variableness  and  diversity 
of  popular  opinion.' 

The  Orthodox  communion  has  five  patriarchates: — Alex- 
andria, Constantinople,  Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Russia. 

Before  the  erection  of  its  patriarchate,  the  highest 
dignity  in  the  Russian  Church  was  that  of  the  metropolitan 
of  Moscow  ;  then  came  the  six  archbishoprics  of  Novogorod, 
Rostoff,  Smolensk,  Kazan,  Pskoff,  and  Vologda ;  then  the 
six  bishoprics  of  Riazan,  Tver,  Kolomenskoe,  Vladimir, 
Sousdal,  and  Kroutiski  or  Sarai,  of  which  the  dioceses  were 
immense.  In  later  years  many  other  bishoprics  have  been 
added. 

The  Russian  Church  has  kept  itself  singularly  free  from 
politics,  and,  except  as  peacemakers  or  as  patriots  when  the 
country  is  in  danger,  its  authorities  have  seldom  interfered 
in  temporal  matters. 

1  DC  Russorum,  Moscovitorum,  et  Tartarorum  R-eligione^  &c.     Spirae  :  Anno 
MD.  LXXXII. 


BLACK  AND    WHITE   CLERGY.  319 

'  In  spite  of  their  splendour,  in  spite  of  the  important  part  which 
they  have  played,  the  Russian  clergy  have  never  showed  the  boundless 
ambition  with  which  history  fairly  reproaches  the  clergy  of  the  Roman 
Church.  They  have  been,  in  the  hands  of  the  grand  princes,  a  useful 
instrument,  but  have  never  disputed  with  them  the  temporal  power. 
With  the  mutual  consent  of  both  sides,  but  without  any  legal  right,  the 
metropolitans  have  served  as  arbiters  in  the  quarrels  of  the  princes  ; 
they  have  guaranteed  the  sincerity  and  the  sanctity  of  oaths  ;  they 
have  appealed  to  the  conscience  whilst  abstaining  from  having  recourse 
to  the  temporal  sword,  with  which  the  Popes  have  usually  threatened 
those  who  have  dared  to  brave  their  pontifical  will ;  and  if  they  have 
sometimes  broken  the  laws  of  charity  and  Christian  humility,  it  has 
only  been  out  of  submission  to  the  princes  on  whom  they  were  entirely 
dependent,'  and  who  raised  them  to  the  rank  of  metropolitan,  or 
lowered  them  at  their  will.  In  short,  the  Russian  Church  has  always 
preserved  its  primitive  character ;  its  principal  object  has  always  been 
to  civilise  manners,  to  calm  the  violence  of  passions,  and  to  preach 
Christian  and  civil  virtues.' — Karamsin. 

Russian  ecclesiastics  are  divided  into  the  '  White  Clergy  ' 
and  the  'Black  Clergy.'  The  White  Clergy,1  who  are  the 
parish  priests,  are  miserably  poor  (for  all  the  ecclesiastical 
wealth  is  absorbed  by  the  monks),  being  chiefly  dependent 
upon  baptismal  or  burial  fees,  which  they  have  great  diffi- 
culty in  extracting  from  the  peasantry.  Formerly  the  priests 
in  country  villages  were  treated  like  serfs,  and  often  most 
contemptuously ;  near  one  great  country  house  the  priest 
used  frequently  to  be  ducked  in  a  pond  to  amuse  the 
landlord  and  his  guests.  At  the  time  of  their  ordination, 
the  White  Clergy  are  expected  to  be  married— to  be  'the 
husband  of  one  wife ' — but  not  on  that  account  to  have 
fallen  in  love.  The  bishop  finds  their  wives  for  the  clergy — 
a  maiden  always,  for  ecclesiastics  may  not  marry  widows 
— and  generally  (being  the  protector  of  clerical  widows 

1  The  White  Clergy  do  not  wear  white  gowns  and  cassocks,  but  any  other  colour 
which  suits  their  taste  and  convenience,  except  black. 


32o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

and  orphans)  the  bishop  expects  a  priest  to  marry  the 
daughter  of  his  predecessor,  with  whom  he  has  also  pro- 
bably, as  a  natural  consequence,  to  undertake  the  care  and 
maintenance  of  the  widow,  his  mother-in-law. 

'  The  customary  portion  which  the  pope  requires  of  his  bride  is  as 
follows  : — (i)  The  long  priest's  ctick  with  the  silver  knob,  which  costs 
about  twelve  roubles  ;  (2)  the  round  and  broad  priest's  hat,  which  also 
costs  about  ten  to  twelve  roubles ;  (3)  a  complete  bed,  costing  forty 
roubles  ;  (4)  twelve  new  shirts  and  twelve  pocket-handkerchiefs  ;  (5) 
the  viza,  or  long  silk  robe  of  the  pope,  which  costs  forty  to  fifty 
roubles,  and  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  roubles  in  money.' — 
Haxlhausen.)  '  The  Russian  Empire.* 

In  former  times  the  White  Clergy  were  elected  by 
the  parishioners  from  any  class  of  the  population,  and 
when  chosen  were  presented  to  the  bishop,  who  if  he 
found  the  candidate  satisfactory,  ordained  him  at  once. 
But  gradually  the  extreme  ignorance  of  the  candidates 
presented  by  the  people  led  the  bishops  to  take  the 
matter  into  their  own  hands,  and  make  their  own  selec- 
tion. Their  choice  usually  fell  on  the  sons  of  priests,  and 
after  episcopal  seminaries  were  established  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  clergy,  none  others  were  chosen.  Indeed,  the 
children  of  priests  are  called  '  little  popes  '  from  babyhood, 
and  are  encouraged  to  play  at  the  christening,  marrying,  and 
burying  of  their  dolls.  The  fact  that  outsiders  are  now  pre- 
vented aspiring  to  the  priesthood  has  made  the  clergy  into 
a  distinct  class,  legally  unable  to  mix  with  the  rest  of  the 
population. 

'  The  people  do  not  respect  the  clergy,  but  persecute  them  with 
derision  and  reproaches,  and  feel  them  to  be  a  burden.  In  nearly  all 
the  popular  comic  stories  the  priest,  his  wife,  or  his  labourer  is  held  up 


THE    WHITE   CLERGY.  321 

to  ridicule  ;  and  in  all  the  proverbs  and  sayings  where  the  clergy  are 
mentioned,  it  is  always  with  derision.  The  people  shun  the  clergy, 
and  have  recourse  to  them  not  from  the  inner  impulse  of  conscience, 
but  from  necessity.  .  .  .  And  why  do  the  people  not  respect  the  clergy  ? 
Because  it  forms  a  class  apart  ;  because,  having  received  a  false  kind 
of  education,  it  does  not  introduce  into  the  life  of  the  people  the 
teaching  of  the  spirit,  but  remains  in  the  mere  dead  forms  .of  outward 
ceremonial,  at  the  same  time  despising  these  forms  even  to  blasphemy  ; 
because  the  clergy  itself  continually  presents  examples  of  want  of  respect 
to  religion,  and  transforms  the  service  of  God  into  a  profitable  trade. 
Can  the  people  respect  the  clergy  when  they  hear  how  one  priest  stole 
money  from  below  the  pillow  of  a  dying  man  at  the  moment  of  confes- 
sion, how  another  was  publicly  dragged  out  of  a  house  of  ill-fame,  how 
a  third  christened  a  dog,  how  a  fourth,  whilst  officiating  at  the  Easter 
service,  was  dragged  by  the  hair  from  the  altar  by  the  deacon  ?  Is  it  pos- 
sible for  the  people  to  respect  priests  who  spend  their  time  in  the  gin- 
shops,  write  fraudulent  petitions,  fight  writh  the  cross  in  their  hands,  and 
abuse  each  other  in  bad  language  at  the  altar  ?  One  might  fill  several 
pages  with  examples  of  this  kind  — in  each  instance  naming  the  time 
and  place — without  overstepping  the  boundaries  of  the  province  of 
Nijni-Novogorod.  Is  it  possible  for  the  people  to  respect  the  clergy 
when  they  see  everywhere  amongst  them  simony,  carelessness  in  per- 
forming the  religious  rites,  and  disorder  in  administering  the  sacra- 
ments ?  Is  it  possible  for  the  people  to  respect  the  clergy  when  they 
see  that  truth  has  disappeared  from  it,  and  that  the  consistories,  guided 
in  their  decisions  not  by  rules,  but  by  personal  friendship  and  bribery, 
destroy  in  it  the  last  remains  of  truthfulness  ?  If  we  add  to  all  this  the 
false  certificates  which  the  clergy  give  to  those  who  do  not  wish  to 
partake  of  the  Eucharist,  the  dues  illegally  extracted  'from  the  old 
Ritualists,  the  conversion  of  the  altar  into  a  source  of  revenue,  the 
giving  of  churches  to  priests'  daughters  as  a  dowry,  and  similar  phe- 
nomena, the  question  as  to  whether  the  people  can  respect  the  clergy 
requires  no  answer.' — Report  of  M.  Mdnikoffto  the  Grand  Duke. -.Con- 
st antine,  as  given  in  Wallace 's  '  Russia. ' 

'  If  anyone  ask  a  Russian  who  may  already  have  dined  to  eat  again, 
he  will  often  answer,  "Am  I  a  priest  that  I  should  dine  twice  over  ?  " 
This  almost  proverbial  way  of  expressing  themselves  refers  to.  the 
moving  about  of  the  popes  from  one  funeral  feast  or  one  christening 
banquet  to  another,  at  which  they  enjoy  themselves  more  than  anyone 
else.  A  Russian  driving  out,  and  meeting  a  pope,  holds  it  for  so  bad  an 

Y 


322  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

omen,  that  he  will  rather  turn  back  if  he  have  not  by  immediate  spit- 
ting warded  off  the  evil  influence. 

'  "  Niel  !  on  ne  iss  nashikh  !  No  !  our  priest  is  good  for  nothing  ; 
he  is  not  one  of  us  ;  he  won't  drink  with  us  ;  he  won't  sing  with  us  ; 
he  does  as  if  he  did  not  know  us  ;  he  is  so  proud  we  will  not  know 
him  either,  and  make  our  gifts  and  presents  to  another  priest."  Such 
is  the  frequent  judgment  of  the  peasants.' — Kohl. 

'  The  White  Clergy  accuse  the  Black  of  diverting  from  them  the 
benefactions  of  the  faithful,  and  of  misappropriating  the  church  reve- 
nues generally ;  the  Black  reply  that  the  white  are  a  set  of  dissolute 
fellows,  who  have  more  than  enough  money  as  it  is,  and  grow  fat  by 
roguery.  The  people,  viewing  with  equal  eye  the  merits  of  the  two 
clergies,  think  there  is  little  to  choose  between  them  in  the  matter  of 
peculation  ;  but  they  despise  the  White  Clergy  most,  because  the  mal- 
practices of  the  popes  are  more  palpable.  The  budget  of  the  secular 
clergy  amounts  to  5,ooo,ooo/. ,  which,  distributed  among  36,00x3 
parishes,  gives  about  1407.  to  each.  By  rights  there  should  be  in  each 
parish  a  pope,  a  deacon,  and  two  clerks  ;  but  there  are  only  12,000 
deacons  and  60,000  clerks  in  the  whole  empire  ;  consequently,  as  half 
the  income  of  each  priest  should  go  to  the  pope,  every  pope  ought  to 
receive  about  857.  a  year.  He  gets  nothing  like  that,  for  the  bishops 
act  as  if  the  establishment  of  deacons  and  clerks  was  complete, 
and  put  the  surplus  salaries  into  their  pockets.  The  synods  also  rob 
him,  and  at  times  (for  instance,  during  the  war)  neglect  to  pay  him 
at  all. 

'  The  pope,  therefore,  swindles  for  a  living.  But  one  need  not 
pity  him  overmuch,  for  the  sums  which  he  makes  by  his  extortions 
more  than  counterbalance  the  salary  of  which  he  is  defrauded.' — 'The 
Russians  of  l^o-day,'  1878. 


There  are  often,  of  course,  exceptions  to  this  ;  and 
happily  there  are  many  parish  priests  still  honoured  and 
deserving  of  honour.  These  are  generally  the  older  priests  ; 
indeed,  it  will  often  be  found  that  the  more  ancient  and 
ghostlike  a  priest  is,  the  more  supernatural  his  voice,  the 
more  popular  he  will  be.  Such  was  the  old  metropolitan  of 
St.  Petersburg — unable  to  hold  a  book,  and  with  no  sight  to 
read  it.  But  a  book  was  held  before  him,  and  a  prompter 


THE    WHITE   CLERGY.  323 

whispered   the  words  which  his  trembling  voice   repeated. 
The  people  adored  that  metropolitan. 

'  As  the  monks  all  wear  black,  the  secular  priests,  almost  without 
exception,  choose  brown  for  their  ordinary  dress  ;  when  they  are 
officiating  as  ministers  of  religion,  it  is  of  course  different.  They  wear 
long  brown  coats  buttoned  from  top  to  bottom,  and  over  them  long, 
full  open  tunics,  with  wide  sleeves.  The  hair  and  beard  are  worn  like 
those  of  the  monks.  On  their  heads  they  wear  high  brown  or  red 
velvet  caps  trimmed  with  handsome  furs,  and  carry  excessively  long 
brown  sticks  studded  with  wrought  silver  knobs.  Such  is  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Russian  secular  priest  as  he  marches  with  stately  step 
through  the  streets. 

'  Poor  as  the  Russian  clergy  are  with  respect  to  revenue  (a  Bishop 
of  Durham  or  Canterbury  has  perhaps  alone  as  much  as  half  the  Duk- 
hovenstvo  or  hierarchy  of  Russia)  they  are  rich  enough  in  titles,  which 
are  sometimes  a  yard  long.  If  a  person  enter  the  apartment  of  a  metro- 
politan and  address  him,  the  title  mns  thus  :  Vuissokopreosswashtshen- 
naishi  Vladiko,  or  if  he  write  to  him  :  Yeivo  Vuissokopreossiuashtshen- 
stvo  Milostivaishu  Gossudarin  i  Archipastuiru.  The  principal  word 
may  be  translated —His  most  holy  highness.  The  whole  address  is 
something  like — His  most  high  highness,  the  most  dear  and  gracious 
lord,  the  lord  archpastor.' — Kohl. 

The  ranks  of  the  clergy  are  so  terribly  overcrowded  that 
there  are  many  of  the  priests  who  live  entirely  by  begging 
for  shrines  and  tombs.  Happily,  it  is  not  very  usual  now  to 
see  a  priest  drunk  ;  still,  there  are  many  priests  who  are 
sent  to  Valamo  as  a  punishment  for  being  seen  in  the  state 
the  ambassadors  of  the  Duke  of  Holstein  describe  from 
Novogorod  : 

'I  saw  a  priest  coming  out  of  a  tippling-house,  who  coming  by  our 
lodging  would  needs  give  the  benediction  to  the  strelitz  who  stood  sen- 
tinel at  the  door ;  but,  as  he  lifted  up  his  hands,  going  to  make  the 
inclination  used  in  that  ceremony,  the  head,  fraught  with  the  vapours 
of  the  wine,  was  so  heavy  that,  weighing  down  the  whole  body,  the 
pope  fell  down  in  the  dirt.  Our  strelitz  took  him  off  with  much 

Y  2 


324  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

respect,  and  received  his  draggled   benediction  ;  it  being,  it  seems,  a 
thing  very  ordinary  among  them." 

To  Protestants  the  Russian  clergy  are  always  extraordi- 
narily tolerant,  and  the  rites  of  burial  in  a  Russo-Greek  ceme- 
tery are  never  refused  to  them.  But  no  Russian  is  tolerant  to 
the  sects  of  his  own  Church,  and  he  is  always  ready  to  spit 
in  his  neighbour's  face  on  religious  grounds.  With  regard 
to  science,  it  must  be  allowed  that,  if  the  Russian  Church 
has  done  nothing  to  advance  it,  it  has  at  least,  unlike  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  done  nothing  to  repress  it. 

Ecclesiastical  administration  is  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Black  Clergy — all  monks  of  the  Order  of  S.  Basil, 
devoted  to  prayer  and  contemplation.  Originally  poor,  and 
devoted  to  evangelical  work,  successive  gifts  and  legacies 
have  richly  endowed  them  ;  and,  though  the  church  lands 
were  secularised,  and  the  number  of  monasteries  greatly 
reduced  under  Catherine  II.,  the  Black  Clergy  remain  the 
ruling  body  in  the  Church. 

The  Greco-Russian  monks  are  of  three  degrees  :  novices, 
those  who  take  '  the  lesser  habit '  after  three  years'  noviciate, 
and  those  who  take  the  'great  angelical  habit'  The  latter, 
when  they  take  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience, 
renounce,  not  only  the  sins  and  vanities  of  the  world,  but 
wife  and  children,  relations  and  friends,  and  every  earthly 
connection  and  possession.  Monks  are  not  necessarily 
priests,  but,  when  ordained,  are  called  the  '  regular  clergy,' 
and  engross  all  the  dignities  and  influence  of  the  Church. 
Bishops  are  always  taken  from  this  order,  and  all  the  higher 
offices  are  filled  from  it ;  the  White  Clergy  can  have  no 
aspirations. 

A  Russian  monk  never  eats  flesh,  and  for  him  there  are 


THE  BLACK  CLERGY.  325 

many  days  of  total  abstinence.  No  monk  is  bound  till  he  is 
thirty  ;  before  that  time  he  can  only  be  a  novice.  Without 
a  particular  order  from  the  Holy  Synod,  no  nun  can  be 
bound  till  she  is  fifty  ;  before  that  time  she  has  power  to 
give  up  the  monastic  life,  or  to  marry.  In  monasteries  of 
the  third  degree,  which  are  very  rare,  the  inmates  must  lower 
their  hoods,  and  never  allow  their  faces  to  be  seen. 

There  are  still  five  hundred  convents  in  Russia,  with 
six  thousand  monks  and  three  thousand  nuns.  The  prin- 
cipal of  a  monastery  is  called  an  archimandrite,  from  fjidvSpa, 
a  fold ;  or  hegumen,  from  ^yov/xat,  duco.  The  former  is 
the  abbot  or  father,  having  the  government  of  the  monks, 
who  are  brethren.  The  hegumen  is  the  prior,  or  chief  of  a 
smaller  convent.  An  abbess  is  called  hegumena.1  The 
names  of  the  monasteries  recall  the  Thebaid  ;  the  larger  are 
called  Laura  (lavra),  the  smaller  Sketa,  or  desert  (poustynia], 

Basilian  monks  wear  a  black  habit,  fastened  with  a  girdle 
of  cord  or  leather.  The  novice  only  wears  the  cassock  ;  the 
simple  monk  wears  also  the  gown,  and  the  Ka^XavKLov.  The 
mantle,  worn  over  the  gown  on  certain  occasions,  is  the 
badge  of  the  piKpov  o-x^/xa,  or  lesser  habit.  The  great 
angelic  habit,  or  simply  oyrjw  is  associated  with  the  idea  of 
total  seclusion  and  preparation  for  death  ;  and  the  scapulary 
and  other  badges  of  it  are  covered  with  emblems  of  death 
and  Christian  faith.2  All  the  Black  Clergy  wear  the  kloboiik 
(/ca/A-j/Aav/aov),  a  high  cap,  with  a  veil  covering  it,  and  falling 
on  the  shoulders  behind. 

1  See  King.  "  See  notes  to  Mouravieff. 


326  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  great  monastery  of  Simonof,  about  four  miles  dis- 
tant, will  probably  be  the  first  which  travellers  will  visit 
from  Moscow.  The  drive  would  be  a  pleasant  one  if  the 
pavement  were  not  so  agonising.  We  turn  to  the  left  by  the 
bridge  beneath  the  Kremlin,  and  skirt  the  river  for  some 
distance.  There  are  many  views  worth  painting,  especially 
towards  evening.  On  the  river  are  barges  of  corn,  which 
are  said  to  be  each  accompanied  by  50,000  of  the  privileged 
pigeons  (emblems  of  the  Holy  Spirit),  eating  most  vora- 
ciously. On  the  low  hill  which  we  cross  is  the  huge 
Monastery  of  the  New  Redeemer  (Novospaski  Monastir),  so 
called  because  it  was  built  by  Ivan  III.  in  the  place  of  the 
original  Spassky  monastery  of  his  great-grandfather  Kalita. 
It  is  surrounded  by  high  walls,  and  approached  by  a  gateway. 
Its  immense  quiet  enclosure  contains  several  churches.  In 
the  principal  church,  approached  by  a  picturesquely  frescoed 
corridor,  are  the  graves  of  many  of  the  Romanoff  family,  be- 
fore any  of  its  members  were  elected  to  the  sovereignty. 
But  the  graves  of  the  family  include  that  of  Martha,  mother 
of  the  Tsar  Michael,  who  had  become  a  nun  when  her 
husband,  afterwards  the  patriarch  Philaret,  became  a  monk. 
Her  son  Michael  and  her  grandson  Alexis  are  represented 
on  the  walls  near  the  ikonastos.  Alexis  gave  the  monastery 
to  the  famous  Nikon,  who  resided  here  till  his  accession 
to  the  patriarchate,  and  went  hence  every  Friday  to  the 
Kremlin,  to  converse  with  the  Tsar  after  the  church  service. 
Almost  more  than  the  churches  in  the  Kremlin  does  the 
church  of  Novospaski  seem  to  be  crowded  with  venerable 
icons,  to  which  a  stranger  present  in  the  church  would  say 
that  the  most  unmitigated  idolatry  was  paid,  yet  : — 


THE  NOVOSPASKI  MONASTERY.  327 

«  The  Eastern  Church  nominally  regards  the  invocation  of  saints  as 
sinful,  because  there  is  only  ''one  Mediator  between  God  and  man," 
but  declares  that  as  we  are  taught  to  pray  for  one  another  and  desire 
the  prayers  of  others  for  ourselves,  there  is  a  secondary  sense,  in  which, 
under  Christ  the  primary  Mediator,  there  may  be  many  others  ;  and  in 
this  sense  they  consider  such  expressions  as  "  Pray  for  us  ;  obtain  for 
us  by  thy  prayers;  grant  to  us;  give  us,"  and  even  "save  us,"  as 
justifiable.  They  even  declare  that  they  put  their  whole  trust  in  some 
saint,  or  even  in  some  icon,  and  that  the  Virgin  is  "  the  only  hope  of 
Christians"  or  "of  the  whole  race  of  mankind." '—W.  Palmer,  '•Dis- 
sertations on  the  Orthodox  or  Eastern-Catholic  Communion.11 

In  the  striking  service  of  *'  Orthodox  Sunday,'  also,  we 
hear  : — 

'  To  those  who  cast  reproaches  on  the  holy  images  which  the  holy 
Church  receiveth,  in  remembrance  of  the  works  of  God  and  his  saints, 
to  inspire  the  beholders  with  piety  and  to  incite  them  to  imitate  their 
examples,  and  to  those  who  say  that  they  are  idols,  Anathema.' 

Very  beautiful  and  melodious,  though  somewhat  mo- 
notonous, is  the  singing  in  these  great  monastic  churches, 
where  we  may  constantly  hear  monks  singing  the  '  eternal 
memory  '  of  a  departed  soul.  Good  bass  voices  are  espe- 
cially appreciated  in  the  Ectinia,  which  answers  to  the  Litany 
of  the  Latin  Church.  Extracts  from  the  Old  Testament 
and  from  the  Epistles  are  read  in  the  services,  as  collected 
in  the  books  called  Minacon  and  Octoahos.  When  the 
Gospel  is  going  to  be  read  the  deacon  arouses  the  attention  of 
the  congregation  by  the  loud  exclamation  of  '  Wisdom,  stand 
up,  let  us  hear  the  Holy  Gospel  ! '  One  of  the  most  striking 
parts  of  the  ordinary  service  is  the  hymn  called  Trisagion, 
or  thrice-holy,  a  hymn  so  called  from  the  word  holy  being 
thrice  repeated.  It  is  of  high  antiquity  in  the  Church,  and 
owes  its  origin,  as  is  pretended,  to  a  miracle  in  the  time  of 


328  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Proclus,  Bishop  of  Constantinople.  An  earthquake  happened 
at  Constantinople  which  lasted  four  months,  but  at  length, 
while  the  Emperor  Proclus  and  his  people  were  making  a 
solemn  procession  to  implore  the  mercy  of  God,  a  boy, 
from  the  midst  of  the  procession,  and  in  sight  of  all  the 
people,  was  taken  up  into  the  air,  where  he  heard  the 
angels  singing,  *  O  holy  God,  O  holy  Mighty,  O  holy  Im- 
mortal, have  mercy  upon  us,'  which  he  desired  the  people  to 
imitate,  and  immediately  on  their  doing  so,  the  earthquake 
ceased  ;  therefore  thenceforth,  'by  order  of  the  Emperor 
Theodosius  Junior,  the  words  were  inserted  into  the  daily 
service.1 

The  sermons  preached  in  these  old  cathedrals  are  usually 
such  as  appeal  far  more  to  the  feelings  than  to  the  intellect, 
and  are  thus  the  more  adapted  to  the  Russian  mind.  The 
following  passage  from  a  sermon  of  Archbishop  Inokenti 
(Innocent),  metropolitan  of  Kieff,  preaching  over  the  coffin  of 
our  Saviour  on  Good  Friday,  is  an  illustration  of  discourses 
of  this  kind  : — 

'  A  pious  hermit  had  once  to  speak  to  his  brethren,  who  were  wait- 
ing to  be  taught  by  him.  Filled  with  a  sense  of  the  poverty  of  man- 
kind, the  old  man,  instead  of  attempting  any  teaching,  said,  "  Brethren, 
let  us  weep  !"  and  they  all  fell  upon  the  ground  and  wept.  I  know 
that  you  now  expect  from  me  words  of  instruction,  but,  in  spite  of 
myself,  my  lips  are  closed  before  the  sight  of  our  Lord  in  his  coffin. 
Who  can  speak  when  He  is  silent  ?  Can  I  say  anything  more  to  you  of 
God  and  His  truth,  of  man  and  his  untruth,  which  can  affect  you  as 
these  wounds  can  ?  Those  who  are  not  moved  by  them  can  never  be 
touched  by  the  word  of  man.  On  Golgotha  there  was  no  preaching, 
only  sobs  and  smiting  of  breasts  :  and  by  this  coffin  there  is  no  place 
for  preaching,  only  for  repentance  and  tears.  Brethren,  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  lies  there  !  Let  Us  weep  and  pray  ! ' 

1  See  King. 


SIMONOF.  329 

In  the  open  burial  ground  of  the  Novospaski  monastery 
is  the  tomb  of  the  nun  Dosythea,  who  was  Tarakovna,  a 
daughter  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  by  Razumofsky.  The 
present  walls  of  the  monastery  were  built  1640-1642  by  the 
nun  Martha,  whose  son,  Michael  Romanoff,  had  then  long 
occupied  the  throne.  It  was  to  Novospaski  that  the  metro- 
politan Athanasius  retired  after  resigning  his  office,  aghast 
at  the  cruelties  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

Between  Novospaski  and  Simonof  we  pass  a  very  pictu- 
resque ancient  Russo-Saracenic  gateway.  Then  through 
a  bit  of  wild  open  country  we  come  to  a  grove  of  trees, 
beyond  which,  on  the  edge  of  a  steep,  rise  the  walls  of  the 
great  monastery  of  Simonof,  which  was  founded  in  1370  by 
a  nephew  of  S.  Sergius,  on  a  site  chosen  by  the  saint  himself. 
The  imposing  circle  of  towers  on  the  walls  resisted  many 
sieges,  but  in  that  of  the  Poles  the  place  was  taken  and 
sacked.  It  once  possessed  twelve  thousand  male  serfs  and 
many  villages  ;  now  it  has  neither  serf  nor  village.  Its  six 
churches,  once  too  few,  are  now  too  many. 

The  central  gate,  under  the  great  bell- tower,  has  long 
been  closed,  and  we  approach  the  monastery  by  a  sandy  lane 
between  the  walls  and  the  cliff.  Hence  we  enter  the 
enclosure— a  peaceful  retreat — with  an  avenue,  and,  in  the 
centre,  a  tall  church,  with  the  five  bulbous  cupolas,  said  to 
represent  Christ  and  the  four  Evangelists,  in  the  same  way 
that  thirteen  are  said  to  represent  Christ  and  the  twelve 
Apostles.  All  around  are  little  houses  with  gay  gardens  of 
marigolds  and  dahlias,  and  bees  humming  in  hedges  of 
spiraea.  The  famous  metropolitan,  S.  Jonah,  lived  here  as 
a  monk.  On  the  ikonastos  of  the  church  is  the  icon  with 
which  S.  Sergius  blessed  Dmitri  of  the  Don,  when  he  went 


330  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

forth  against  the  Tartars,  and  beneath  are  buried' his  two 
warrior  monks,  who  perished  in  the  combat.1 

'  At  the  very  moment  of  the  decisive  battle  of  the  Don,  which  first 
shook  the  empire  of  the  Mongols  over  Russia,  the  aged  S.  Sergius  was 
supporting  Demetrius  by  his  prayers.  His  two  monks,  Peresvet  and 
Osliab,  fought  in  the  ranks,  with  the  schema  under  their  coats  of  mail  ; 
and  Peresvet  began  the  engagement  by  a  single  combat  with  a  gigantic 
Tartar,  the  champion  of  the  horde.  He  sealed  with  his  blood  the 
approaching  deliverance  of  Russia,  and  was  the  precursor  of  those  hero- 
monks  of  the  Trinity  Laura,  who  so  gloriously  distinguished  them- 
selves in  other  days  of  no  less  danger  and  distress  to  their  country. 
The  bodies  of  Peresvet  and  Osliab  were  laid  as  the  foundation  of  the 
Simonof  monastery,  when  it  was  first  built  on  the  original  site.' — 
Mourauieff. 

In  this  and  other  Russian  monasteries,  strangers  are 
received  with  kindness,  but  with  more  than  rigid  simplicity. 
The  Rule  of  S.  Basil  enjoins  hospitality  on  its  monks,  but 
they  are  forbidden  to  provide  anything  more  than  the  neces- 
saries of  life  for  strangers  ;  to  do  so,  it  says,  would  be  as 
absurd  as  if  they  should  put  on  better  clothes  in  which 
to  receive  them,  adding  that  if  only  an  austere  diet  is 
provided,  the  monks  will  soon  be  rid  of  all  merely  idle 
visitors  of  a  worldly  spirit.2 

Most  pictorial  was  the  view  upon  which  we  looked 
towards  sunset  from  the  monastic  gate — the  rich  colour  on 
the  old  red  walls  ;  the  sandy  road  winding  along  the  edge 
of  the  height,  and  peopled  by  groups  of  children  in  the 
brilliant  pink  and  blue  which  Russians  love  ;  the  soft  bril- 
liant green  of  the  meadows  below  fading  into  the  silvery  grey 

1  They  had  been  soldiers,  and  had  abandoned  the  military  for  the  ecclesiastical 
life.     Possibly  they  were  White  Brethren,  amongst  whom  former  soldiers  are  not 
uncommon  at  the  present  day. 

2  Regulaefusiits  exphcatae.     Reg.  20. 


SIMONOF. 


351 


of  groves  of  willows  so  ancient  as  to  recall  the  olives  of 
Italy  ;  and  the  domes  of  distant  monasteries,  purple  upon 
an  amber  sky.  Often  a  fair  is  held  in  these  meadows,  and 
is  a  very  pretty  sight  :  milk,  pans  of  honey,  and  melons  at 
10  kopecks  (3^.)  are  sold  there.  Amongst  the  costumes, 
the  passion  for  red  is  always  predominant,  and  all  the 


IN    THE   CONVENT    OF    SIMONOF. 


moujik  dandies,  in  black  knickerbockers   and  well-shaped 
boots  reaching  to  the  knee,  wear  scarlet  shirts. 

*  La  chemise  rouge  ou  blanche  des  paysans,  boutonnee  sur  la  clavicule 
et  serree  autour  des  reins  avec  une  ceinture,  par-dessus  laquelle  le  haut 
de  cette  espece  de  sayon  retombe  en  plis  antiques,  tandis  que  le  bas 
flotte  comme  une  tunique,  et  recouvre  le  pantalon  ou  on  ne  1'enferme 
pas  ;  la  longue  robe  a  la  persanne  souvent  ouverte,  et  qui  lorsque 
1'homme  ne  travaille  pas  recouvre  en  partie  cette  blouse,  les  cheveux 
longs  des  cotes  separes  sur  le  front,  mais  coupes  ras  par  derriere  un  pen 


332  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

plus  haut  que  la  nuque,  ce  qui  laisse  a  decouvert  la  force  du  col  :  tout 
cet  ensemble  ne  compose-t-il  pas  un  costume  original  et  gracieux  ? 
L'air  doux  et  sauvage  a  la  fois  des  paysans  russes  n'est  pas  denue  de 
grace  :  leur  taille  elegante,  leur  force  qui  ne  nuit  pas  a  la  legerete,  leur 
souplesse,  leurs  larges  epaules,  le  sourire  doux  de  leur  bouche,  le 
melange  de  tendresse  et  de  ferocite  qui  se  retrouve  dans  leur  regard 
sauvage  et  triste,  leur  seul  aspect  aussi  different  de  celui  de  nos 
laboureurs  que  les  lieux  qu'ils  habitent  et  le  pays  qu'ils  cultivent  sont 
differents  du  reste  de  1'Europe.' — M.  de  Custine. 

In  such  clear  summer  evenings,  in  which  all  the  beauty 
depends  upon  the  pellucid  sky  and  the  atmospheric  effects, 
how  many  scenes  one  meets  with  which  recall  one  of  the 
word-pictures  of  TourguenerT ! 

'  The  day  was  rapidly  drawing  to  a  close  ;  the  sun  was  hidden 
behind  a  little  wood  of  aspens  situated  half  a  verst  distant,  and  cast  a 
boundless  shadow  over  the  motionless  fields,  a  peasant  on  a  white 
horse  was  trotting  along  the  narrow  path  which  skirted  the  wood  ; 
although  he  was  in  shadow,  his  whole  figure  was  distinctly  visible,  and 
one  could  even  see  a  patch  upon  his  coat  at  the  shoulder  ;  the  horse's 
feet  moved  with  a  regularity  and  precision  pleasant  to  the  eye.  The 
rays  of  sun  penetrated  the  wood,  and  traversing  the  thicket,  coloured 
the  stems  of  the  aspens  with  a  warm  tint  which  gave  them  the  appear- 
ance of  pine-trunks,  whilst  their  foliage,  almost  blue,  was  relieved  upon 
a  pale  sky,  slightly  empurpled  by  the  twilight.  The  larks  were  flying 
very  high  ;  the  wind  had  entirely  gone  down  ;  the  belated  bees  were 
feebly  buzzing  in  the  syringa  flowers,  as  if  they  were  half  asleep  ;  a 
column  of  gnats  was  dancing  over  a  solitary  branch  which  stretched 
into  the  air. ' — Parents  and  Children. 


To  reach  the  Novo  Devichi  (the  Newly-saved)  Monastery, 
we  follow  the  road  we  took  to  the  Sparrow  Hills  as  far  as  the 
outskirts  of  Moscow.  Thence  a  wide  street,  with  shabby 
houses  scattered  along  it,  leads  to  a  sandy  dusty  plain, 


NOVO  DEVI  CHI. 


333 


whence  rise,  as  from  a  desert,  the  battlemented  walls  and 
weird  lofty  gate  of  the  monastery,  which  was  founded  in 
1524  in  commemoration  of  the  capture  of  Smolensk.  The 
exterior  is  perhaps  the  strangest,  the  interior  the  prettiest  of 
all  the  monasteries.  Masses  of  flowers,  carefully  tended 
by  the  multitude  of  nuns,  cluster  round  the  graves,  which 
fill  most  of  the  space  between  the  little  houses  and  the 
church,  with  its  many  domes  shrouded  in  a  veil  of  chain 


NOVO    DEVICHI    MONASTERY. 


work.  Little  raised  paved  pathways  for  winter  lead  in  every 
direction.  Silvery  bells  chime  from  the  great  tower.  A 
myriad  birds  perch  upon  the  aerial  webs  of  metal  work — 
the  hated  sparrows,  as  well  as  the  honoured  swallows. 

*  When  the  Jews  were  seeking  for  Christ  in  the  garden,  says  a  Khar- 
kof  legend,  all  the  birds,  except  the  sparrow,  tried  to  draw  them  away 
from  his  hiding-place.  Only  the  sparrow  attracted  them  thither  by  its 
shrill  chirruping.  Then  the  Lord  cursed  the  sparrow,  and  forbade  that 
men  should  eat  of  its  flesh.  In  other  parts  of  Russia  tradition  tells  us 
that  before  the  crucifixion  the  swallows  carried  off  the  nails  provided 
for  the  use  of  the  executioners,  but  the  sparrows  brought  them  back. 
And  while  our  Lord  was  hanging  on  the  cross  the  sparrows  were  mali- 
ciously exclaiming,  Jif!  Jif!  or  "  He  is  living  !  He  is  living  !  "  in  order 


334  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

to  urge  on  the  tormentors  to  fresh  cruelties.  But  the  swallows  cried, 
with  opposite  intent,  Umer !  Umerl  "He  is  dead!  He  is  dead!" 
Therefore  it  is,  that  to  kill  a  swallow  is  a  sin,  and  that  its  nest  brings 
good  luck  to  a  house.  But  the  sparrow  is  an  unwelcome  guest,  whose 
entry  into  a  cottage  is  a  presage  of  woe.  As  a  punishment  for  its  sins 
its  legs  have  been  fastened  together  by  invisible  bonds,  and  therefore  it 
always  hops,  not  being  able  to  run.' — Ralston  (from  Afanasief],  '  Rzts- 
sian  Folk  Tales.'' 


Theie  are  multitudes  of  small  birds,  but  it  is  affirmed 
that  there  are  no  magpies  within  thirty  miles  of  Moscow. 
The  golden  trowel  of  the  metropolitan  was  once  carried  off 
when  he  was  about  to  lay  a  foundation  stone.  The  work- 
men were  accused,  knouted,  and  sent  to  Siberia,  and  then 
the  bell-ringers  discovered  that  magpies  had  carried  it  off 
to  the  top  of  the  belfry,  and  the  birds  were  cursed 
accordingly. 

The  abbess  of  Novo  Devichi  came  and  talked  to  us 
whilst  we  drew  amongst  the  flowers,  gathered  nosegays  of 
zinnias,  sweet-peas,  and  scabious  for  the  ladies  of  our  party, 
and  lamented  her  sorrows  in  the  perversion  of  a  niece,  who, 
after  the  privilege  of  being  educated  in  a  convent,  had  de- 
clared that  she  had  a  vocation  for — matrimony  !  Catherine 
II.  founded  an  institution  here  for  the  education  of  two 
hundred  noble  young  ladies  and  two  hundred  and  forty 
other  girls,  and  in  this  the  nuns  are  chiefly  employed. 

In  the  church,  with  its  huge  pillars,  matted  floors,  and 
gorgeous  ikonastos,  we  were  present  at  a  litany,  in  which  a 
solitary  nun  sang  the  responses  like  a  wail  ;  all  the  others, 
in  their  long  black  robes  and  peaked  hoods,  only  crossing 
themselves "  incessantly.  We  observed  here  how  different 
the  way  the  "Russians  make  their  poklon,  or  sign  of  the  cross, 
is  to  that  of  Catholics.  The  little  and  third  finger  are  drawn 


NOVO  DEVICHI.  335 

back  into  the  hand  ;  the  two  others  and  the  thumb  alone 
project,  as  a  mystic  symbol  of  the  Trinity  ;  and  the  whole 
body  is  bowed  at  the  same  time. 

'  Grace,  affectation,  self-complacency,  devotion,  coldness,  pride,  all 
the  human  virtues  and  human  weaknesses  are  mirrored  in  these  bowings 
and  crossings.  There  is  no  end  of  them  in  the  churches,  and  a  Russian 
congregation  engaged  unceasingly  in  these  exercises,  certainly  offers  the 
strangest  spectacle  in  the  world.  On  the  festival  of  the  Poklonenie 
AndraiJ-  the  monks  must  make  two  hundred  crossings,  bowings,  and 
prostrations,  one  after  another. 

'  The  oddest  of  all  the  applications  of  the  sign  is  made  when 
yawning.  Whenever  the  mouth  involuntarily  opens  for  this  operation, 
which  may  well  excite  all  sorts  of  strange  fancies  among  a  superstitious 
people,  seeing  that  we  yawn  quite  against  .our  will— the  Russian  thinks 
it  is  the  work  of  the  Evil  One  ;  and  that  the  devil  may  not  slip  in  to 
snap  up  the  soul,  the  sign  of  the  cross  must  be  made  before  the  mouth. 
This  notion  is  cherished  by  none  more  than  by  venerable  matrons,  and 
nothing  can  be  droller  than  to  see  an  old  Russian  woman  thus  busied 
in  defending,  against  the  devil,  the  mouth  that  she  finds  it  so  difficult  to 
keep  shut.' — Kohl. 

It  was  in  this  convent  of  Novo  Devichi  that  the  'dis- 
consolate Tsaritsa '  Irene,  widow  of  Feodor,  and  daughter- 
in-law  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  became  a  nun  after  the  death 
of  her  husband,  *  in  whose  person  the  race  of  Rurik,  after 
six  centuries,  bade  its  final  farewell  to  Russia,  and  by  whose 
departure  the  royal  house  of  Moscow  was  left  tenantless.' 2 
Though  Irene  had  refused  to  accept  the  crown  which  was 
offered  to  her,  all  public  business  continued  to  be  trans- 
acted in  her  new  monastic  name  of  Alexandra,  till,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  patriarch  Job,  her  brother,  the  boyar  Boris 
Godunof,  was  elected  to  the  sovereignty. 

'  For  a  long  time  Boris  refused  the  crown,  and  even  concealed  him 
self  in  the  cell  of  the  Tsaritsa  his  sister.  Then  the  patriarch  went  in 

1  Crossings  in  honour  of  S.  Andrew.  2  Mouravieff. 


336  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

procession  with  the  cross,  accompanied  by  all  his  clergy,  and  with  great 
difficulty  persuaded  him  to  accept  it,  for  the  sake  of  the  icon  of  our 
Lady  of  Vladimir,  which  they  had  brought  to  him  to  the  convent.'— 
Sfourceoieff. 

But  the  chief  historic  associations  of  Novo  Devichi  are 
connected  with  the  Tsarevna  Sophia  Alexievna,  who  governed 
Russia  during  the  minority  of  Peter  the  Great.  She  was 
bom  in  1658,  being  the  fourth  daughter  of  Tsar  Alexis  by 
his  first  wife  Maria  Ilinitchna,  of  the  family  of  the  Miloslavski, 
whose  quarrels  were  incessant  with  the  family  of  the  Narysh- 
kins,  to  whom  Natalia,  second  wife  of  Alexis,  belonged. 
The  cleverness  of  the  Princess  Sophia,  and  her  attention  to 
her  brother  Feodor  during  a  long  illness,  gave  her  a  complete 
ascendency  over  him.  and  she  was  practically  the  ruler  of 
Russia  during  his  reign,  acting  under  the  advice  of  Vassili 
Galitzin,  who  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  political 
abilities  under  Alexis. 

Feodor  died  in  1682,  when  his  weak,  feeble-minded, 
whole  brother  Ivan  was  excluded  from  the  sovereignty,  and 
his  brilliant  half  brother  Peter  declared  Tsar.  The  partisans 
of  Peter  said  that  this  was,  first,  by  the  express  appointment  of 
Feodor,  and  secondly,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  nation. 
The  fact  was  that,  when  the  courtiers,  officers,  and  eccle- 
siastics met.  according  to  custom,  at  the  Kremlin  to  kiss  the 
hands  of  the  dead  Tsar,  they  also  kissed  those  of  both  Ivan 
and  Peter.  But  the  patriarch  Joachim  took  the  unusual 
step  of  demanding  which  of  the  brothers  they  would  nomi- 
nate as  Tsar,  and  they  then  chose  Peter.  A  record  in  the 
office  for  Foreign  Affairs  also  states  that  Ivan  renounced  his 
rights,  because  it  was  desirable  that  his  brother  should  be 
elected,  to  avoid  complications  with  the  Tsaritsa  Natalia, 


THE   TSAREVNA    SOPHIA.  537 

who  was  still  alive.  The  report  that  the  election  of  Peter 
was  unanimous  is  extremely  improbable,  owing  to  the  power 
of  the  Miloslavski  and  Galitzin.  Still  he  was  elected,  and, 
during  his  childhood,  the  power  fell  to  his  mother,  Natalia. 

Then  Sophia  and  her  maternal  relations,  the  Miloslavski, 
persuaded  the  strelitzi  or  streltsi--the  regiment  of  guards — to 
seize  the  Kremlin,  by  spreading  a  report  that  Ivan  Alexievitch 
was  murdered.  He  was  produced  to  them  alive,  and,  after 
seeing  him,  the  streltsi  would  have  dispersed  peacefully,  if 
Prince  Dolgorouki  had  not  had  the  imprudence  to  threaten 
them  with  punishments,  upon  which  they  hacked  him  to 
pieces,  and  massacred  a  great  number  of  the  Naryshkin 
faction.  Henceforth,  Ivan  and  Peter  were  declared  joint 
sovereigns  :  but,  on  account  of  the  incapacity  of  Ivan  and 
youth  of  Peter,  the  real  ruling  power  rested  with  Sophia. 
She  even  adopted  some  of  the  outward  signs  of  sovereignty. 
Her  image,  with  crown  and  sceptre,  was  stamped  on  one  side 
of  coins,  on  the  other  side  of  which  her  two  brothers  are 
represented.  In  public  processions  she  appeared  with  the 
insignia  of  royalty,  and  at  the  cathedral  services  she  usurped 
the  throne  intended  only  for  the  Tsaritsa.  It  is  said,  but 
falsely,  that,  the  better  to  preserve  her  position,  she  neglected 
the  education  of  Peter,  and  encouraged  him,  by  evil  com- 
panions, to  profligacy  and  excess. 

It  was  in  September,  1689,  that  Peter  determined  to  eman- 
cipate himself  and  imprison  his  sister,  who  is  groundlessly 
asserted  to  have  tried  to  anticipate  her  fall  by  his  assassi- 
nation. Having  been  joined  at  the  Troitsa,  whither  he  had 
fled,  by  the  nobles,  soldiers,  and  even  the  patriarch  Joachim, 
Peter  assembled  60,000  men  at  the  church  of  S.  Basil,  gained 
a  complete  victory,  banished  Vassili  Galitzin  for  life,  and 


338  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

shut  up  Sophia  in  Novo  Devichi.  Here  she  was  at  first 
allowed  well-furnished  rooms  looking  out  on  the  Devichi 
plain,  though  she  was  never  allowed  to  go  out,  or  to  receive 
any  visitors  except  her  aunts  and  sisters,  and  these  only  on 
great  festivals  of  the  Church.1 

'  Sophia  s'etait  emancipee  de  la  reclusion  du  terem  comme  Pierre 
s'etait  emancipe  de  la  reclusion  du  palais  pour  courir  les  rues  et  naviguer 
sur  les  fleuves.  Tons  deux  avaient  tenu  une  conduite  scandaleiise, 
d'apres  les  idees  du  temps,  1'une  haranguant  les  soldats,  presidant  des 
conciles,  marchant  la  fata  levee,  1'autre  maniant  la  hache  comme  un 
charpentier,  ramant  comme  un  simple  kosak,  frayant  avec  les  aventurier 
etrangers,  se  colletant  avec  les  palefreniers  dans  les  combats  simules. 
Mais  pour  1'une  cette  emancipation  n'est  qu'un  moyen  pour  arriver  au 
pouvoir  ;  pour  1'autre,  1'emancipation  de  la  Russie,  comme  la  sienne, 
c'est  le  but.  II  veut  degager  la  nation  des  antiques  entraves  qu'il  a 
brisees  pour  lui-meme.  Sophie  reste  une  Byzantine,  Pierre  aspire  a 
etre  un  Europeen.  Dans  le  conflit  entre  la  tsarevna  et  le  tsar,  ce  n'est 
pas  du  cote  du  Di£vitchiM<mastyr<ya?e&t  le  progres.' — Alfred  Rambaud. 

In  1698,  the  revolution  of  the  streltsi  in  favour  of  Sophia, 
though  she  was  probably  innocent  of  it,  led  to  the  severe 
imprisonment  of  the  Tsarevna  in  the  convent  (in  which  she 
had  already  resided  nine  years)  under  a  guard  of  a  hundred 
soldiers.  She  was  now  forced  to  take  religious  vows,  and, 
as  the  nun  Susanna,  was  not  allowed  to  see  even  the  members 
of  her  family,  except  under  the  strictest  precautions.  Never- 
theless, though  many  of  the  prisoners  were  put  to  the  torture 
to  induce  them  to  avow  it,  no  proofs  could  be  brought 
against  Sophia  of  the  murderous  plots  against  Peter  of 
which  she  was  accused.  Two  thousand  streltsi  were  executed; 
and,  to  strike  terror  into  the  unfortunate  Tsarevna,  a 
hundred  and  ninety-five  of  them  were  hanged  on  a  square 

1  See  Schuyler's  Life  of  Peter  ths  Great. 


THE  DONSKOI  MONASTERY.  339 

gallows  in  front  of  her  cell  ;  and  three  were  left  hanging  all 
winter  so  close  to  her  windows  that  she  could  have  touched 
them,1  one  of  the  corpses  holding  in  his  hands  a  folded 
paper  to  represent  a  petition.  It  is  interesting  to  possess  a 
portrait  of  the  captive  princess,  though  it  is  not  a  pleasant 
one. 

'  Her  mind  and  her  ability  bear  no  relation  to  the  deformity  of  her 
person,  as  she  is  immensely  fat,  with  a  head  as  large  as  a  bushel,  hairs 
on  her  face,  and  tumours  on  her  legs,  and  at  least  forty  years  old.  But 
in  the  same  degree  that  her  stature  is  broad,  short,  and  coarse,  her  mind 
is  shrewd,  unprejudiced,  and  full  of  policy.' — De  Netmille,  1689. 

The  unfortunate  Sophia  died  July  1704,  and  was  buried 
in  the  church  with  several  of  her  sisters.  Her  tomb  is  in- 
scribed : 

'A.M.  7213.  On  the  third  of  July  died  Sophia  Alexievna,  aged 
forty-six  years,  nine  months,  and  six  days  :  her  monastic  name  was 
Susanna.  She  had  been  a  nun  five  years,  eight  months,  and  twelve 
days.  She  was  buried  on  the  fourth  in  this  church,  called  the  Image  of 
Smolensko.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Alexis  Michailovitch,  and  of 
Maria  Ilinitchna.' 

Peter  had  always  admired  the  genius  of  Sophia.  '  What 
a  pity,'  he  said,  '  that  she  persecuted  me  in  my  minority, 
and  that  I  cannot  repose  any  confidence  in  her,  otherwise, 
when  I  am  employed  abroad,  she  might  govern  at  home.'2 


There  is  but  a  short  distance  between  Novo  Devichi  and 
the  Donskoi  Monastery.    An  ugly  suburban  street  ends  near 

1  Gordon,  pp.  95,  100. 

*  Sophia  had  considerable  literary  power.  She  translated  Le  Medecin  malgre 
lui  of  Moliere  into  Russian,  and  composed  a  tragedy  — the  first  extant  in  the  Russian 
language. 

Z  2 


340 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


the  monastic  walls  girt  with  richly  ornamented  towers.  The 
monastery  was  founded  in  1592  to  commemorate  the  gift  of 
a  sacred  picture  by  Kalmucks  of  the  Don  to  Dmitri,1  the 
same  picture  which  in  after  times  was  carried  by  Dmitri  at 
the  famous  battle  of  Kulikovo  when  he  gained  his  great 
victory  over  the  Tartars,  and  by  Boris  Godunof  in  the  battle 
of  Moscow.  A  stone  church  was  built  at  the  monastery  in 
its  honour.2 


THE    DONSKOI    MONASTERY. 


It  was  from  the  Donskoi  monastery  that  Archbishop 
Ambrose  was  dragged  by  the  people  and  torn  to  pieces  in 
the  reign  of  Catherine  II.,  because,  to  prevent  contagion 
during  the  plague,  he  had  removed  a  favourite  icon  to  which 
they  had  crowded,  and  shut  it  up.3 

There  are  pretty  fields  with  groups  of  fine  trees  and  a 
wooden  village,  beyond  the  monastery.  The  grey  monoto- 


1  Strahl,  168.  "  Karamsin,  x. 

3  See  Voltaire,  Lettres  de  fimperatrice  de  Russie.     Lett.  94. 


VILLAGE  LIFE.  341 

nous  tints  of  life  amongst  the  peasantry  in  such  a  village 
are  described  in  the  poems  of  Nicholas  Nekrasov,  who  died 
in  1877.  Better  known,  however,  are  the  descriptions  of 
Gogol  (1808-1852)  the  Russian  Dickens;  his  characters 
have  become  known  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
empire,  and  his  descriptions  are  all  taken  from  real  life. 
In  these  wooden  villages  there  is  the  stillness  and  calm  of 
ages. 

'  There  is  noise  in  the  capitals,  the  orators  thunder, 

The  war  of  words  rages  ; 
But  here,  in  the  depths  of  Russia, 

Is  the  silence  of  centuries, 

Only  the  wind  gives  no  rest 

To  the  tops  of  the  willows  along  the  road, 

And  kissing  mother  earth, 

The  ears  of  the  illimitable  cornfield 

Bend  themselves  in  an  arch. ' 

Nekrasov  (trans,  by  W.  R.  MorfiH}. 

A  good-natured,  stolid,  grave  taciturnity  is  the  character- 
istic of  the  Russian  moujik. 

'  Le  peuple,  serieux  par  necessite  plus  que  par  nature,  n'ose  guere 
rire  du  regard  ;  mais  a  force  de  paroles  reprimees,  ce  regard,  anime  par 
le  silence,  supplee  a  Peloquence,  tant  il  donne  de  passion  a  la  phy- 
sionomie.  II  est  presque  toujours  spirituel,  quelquefois  doux,  lent, 
plus  souvent  triste  jusqu'a  la  ferocite  ;  il  tient  de  celui  de  la  bete  fauve 
prise  au  piege.' — M.  de  Cttstine. 

Ralston  gives  a  pleasant  picture  of  a  holiday  in  a  village 
of  this  kind. 

'  When  a  holiday  arrives,  in  fine  spring  weather  even  the  saddest  - 
looking  of  Russian  hamlets  assumes  a  lively  aspect.  In  front  of  their 
wooden  huts  the  old  people  sit  "  simply  chatting  in  a  rustic  row  ;  "  the 
younger  men  and  women  gather  together  in  groups,  each  sex  apart  from 
the  other,  and  talk  about  their  fields  and  their  flocks,  their  families  and 


342  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

their  household  affairs.  Across  the  river  they  see  their  horses,  free 
from  labour  for  the  day,  browsing  in  the  green  meadows  ;  above  the 
copse  rises  the  blue  cupola  of  a  neighbouring  church  ;  beyond  the  log- 
houses  a  streak  of  road  stretches  away  into  the  distance,  and  loses  itself 
among  the  woods  which  darken  the  plain  and  fringe  the  horizon. 
Along  the  village  street  and  the  slope  towards  the  river  stroll  the  young 
girls  in  their  holiday  array,  merrily  wending  towards  the  open  space  in 
which  the  Khorovods  are  always  held,  and  singing  as  they  go.' — '  Songs 
of  the  Rtissian  People.'' 


The  queen  of  the  monasteries  of  Great  Russia,  the  holy 
of  holies,  is  undoubtedly  the  famous  Troitsa,  forty  versts,  or 
thirty  miles,  from  Moscow,  which  is  now  reached  in  an  hour 
and  twenty  minutes  by  rail  on  the  line  to  Yaroslaf :  but 
devout  Russians  still  make  the  pilgrimage  on  foot.  The  Greek 
Princess  Sophia,  wife  of  Ivan  the  Great,  thus  made  this  pil- 
grimage, in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  son,  upon  which  S. 
Sergius  appeared  to  her,  bearing  a  beautiful  male  child,  and 
'  threw  it  into  her  bosom,'  and  it  was  born  nine  months  after- 
wards.1 Hither  Ivan  the  Terrible  came,  with  his  first  wife 
Anastasia,  to  return  thanks  for  the  bir^h  of  his  eldest  son 
Dmitri.  Sir  Jerome  Horsey  records  the  first  pilgrimage 
hither  of  the  Tsaritsa  Maria,  daughter  of  the  infamous 
Malouta  Skouratof,  but  herself  the  gentle  wife  of  Boris 
Godunof,  after  their  popular  election  and  coronation,  in 
June  1584. 

'  The  Empresse  of  deuotion  tooke  this  journey  on  foot  all  the  way, 
accompanied  with  her  princesses  and  ladies,  no  small  number  ;  her 
guard  and  gunners  were  in  number  20,000.' 

Boris  Godunof  and  Maria  came  again  on  pilgrimage  to 
the  Troitsa,  and  spent  nine  days  at  the  tomb  of  S.  Sergius, 

1  Karamsin,  vi. 


THE    TROITSA.  343 

imploring  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon  the  marriage  of  their 
daughter  Xenia  with  Duke  John  of  Denmark,  but  on  their 
return  to  Moscow,  before  the  marriage  could  take  place,  the 
bridegroom  died  ;  for  this  time  the  Tsaritsa  had  not  made 
the  pilgrimage  on  foot,  but  in  a  magnificent  coach  drawn 
by  ten  horses  ! 

The  Empress  Catherine  II.  made  the  pilgrimage  on  foot 
with  all  her  court,  only  going'  five  miles  a  day,  with  vessels 
of  Neva  wrater  always  ready  to  refresh  her. 

The  railway-line,  as  usual,  leads  through  the  eternal 
forests  of  fir-trees,  which  the  Russians  regard  with  a  con- 
tempt indicated  in  the  well-known  proverb  :  *  Koli  khleba 
kra'i,  tak  y  pod  yeliu  rai.'  '  Where  there  is  plenty  of  bread 
it  is  paradise,  even  under  the  fir-tree.' 

The  monastery  of  Troitsa  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
station,  covering  the  summit  of  a  low7  hill  with  its  glittering 
domes  and  cupolas,  all  encased  in  metal  and  rising  from  em- 
battled walls  above  the  little  town.  It  dates  from  1342, 
wrhen  it  was  founded  by  S.  Sergius  of  Radonegl  (1315-92, 
canonised  1428),  a  hermit  of  these  central  forests,  the  hero  of 
a  thousand  legends,  amidst  which  one  story  shines  out  as 
a  fact  :  that  when  Dmitri  of  the  Don,  himself  almost  a  saint, 
shrank  rom  the  Tartars,  it  was  Sergius  who  urged  him  on 
to  the  great  victory  which  gave  him  his  illustrious  name. 
The  monks  Peresvet  and  Osliab  accompanied  him  to  the 
battle  and  fought  beside  him  in  coats  of  mail  as  he  sang  the 
forty-sixth  Psalm  on  the  battle-field.1 

'  \\  ith  the  name  of  Sergius  a  new  monastic  world  opens  itself  in  the 
north.  The  commencement  of  his  lonely  hermitage  in  the  woods  near 
Moscow  is  a  point  of  as  much  importance  in  Russian  history  as  the 

1  See  Mouravieff,  62. 


344  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

excavation  of  the  cave  of  Anthony  on  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper.  .  .  . 
Sergius  built  by  his  own  labour  in  the  midst  of  the  forest  a  wooden 
church,  by  the  name  of  the  Source  of  Life,  the  ever-blessed  Trinity, 
which  has  since  grown  into  that  glorious  laura  whose  destiny  has 
become  inseparable  from  the  destinies  of  the  capital,  and  from  whence 
on  so  many  occasions  the  salvation  of  all  Russia  has  proceeded.' 
— Mouravieff. 

'  Ce  qui  avail  fait  la  gloire  de  Kieff,  1'ancienne  metropole,  c'etait 
cet  illustre  monastere  de  Petcherski,  avec  les  saintes  catacombes  et  les 
torn  beaux  de  tant  d'ascetes  et  de  thaumaturges.  Cet  heritage  de  vertus 
et  de  glorieuse  austerite,  Moscou  1'eut  aussi  en  partage.  Dans  une 
profonde  foret  oil  il  n'eut  d'abord  pour  compagnon  qu'un  ours,  sur  le 
cours  d'eau  qui  n'avait  d'autres  riverains  que  les  castors,  Saint  Serge 
fonda  ce  monastere  de  Troitsa  (la  Trinite}  qui  devait  devenir  1'un  des 
plus  veneres  et  les  plus  opulents  de  la  Russie  orientale.  Par  la  suite, 
en  effet,  ses  richesses  s'accroissant,  il  dut  s'entourer  de  remparts  ;  et  ses 
epaisses  murailles  de  briques,  avec  un  triple  etage  d'embrasures,  ses 
neuf  tours  de  guerre,  toutes  ses  fortifications  encore  aujourd'hui  subsis- 
tantes  devaient  braver  plus  tard  les  assauts  des  catholiques  et  des 
infideles.' — Rambaiul,  '  Hist,  de  la  Russie.  * 


In  1408  the  monastery  was  sacked  by  the  Tartars,  but 
it  was  re-established  in  1423. 

'  In  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Troitsa  was  the 
centre  of  the  national  resistance  to  the  Polish  rule.  It  spent  its  enor- 
mous wealth  in  the  deliverance  of  the  country.  In  1609  it  successfully 
withstood  a  siege  of  sixteen  months  from  the  Poles,  under  Lissovski 
and  the  Hetman  Sapieha.  Then  the  Poles  sought,  equally  in  vain,  to 
gain  it  by  bribery  for  the  false  Demetrius.  When  the  siege  was  raised, 
the  monastery  sent  its  treasures  to  be  sold  at  Moscow,  to  provide  for 
the  troops.  When  Moscow  fell  under  the  Polish  rule,  after  the  fall  of 
Shuiski,  the  nucleus  of  resistance  was  again  formed  at  the  Troitsa.  The 
Abbot  Dionisi  and  the  steward  Abrami  Palitzin  assembled  an  armed 
force,  and  summoned  all  faithful  boyars  to  the  deliverance  of  their 
"holy  mother  Moscow."  They  induced  Prince  Troubetskoi  to  risk 
the  battle,  by  which  he  gained  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  the  city 
and  drove  the  Poles  behind  the  walls  of  the  Kitaigorod.  The  summons 
which  the  Troitsa  sent  to  Kazan  and  Nijni  Novogorod  eventually  led 
to  the  general  revolt,  under  Minin  and  Pojarskoi,  which  freed  Russia 


THE   TROITSA,  345 

from  the  Polish  yoke.  In  1615  the  Troitsa  was  again  besieged  by  the 
-Polish  prince  Vladislaf,  who  claimed  the  Russian  throne  in  opposition 
to  the  Romanoffs.  But  after  a  bloody  assault  he  was  repulsed,  and,  in 
1619,  under  the  walls  of  the  monastery,  a  peace  was  concluded,  ever 
since  which  the  balance  of  power  has  inclined  towards  Russia. 

'  Finally  in  the  monastery  of  Troitsa,  the  brother-Tsars  Ivan  and 
Peter  found  a  refuge  from  the  strelitzes  in  1685,  and  again  Peter  I. 
took  refuge  here  in  1689,  and  whilst  here  destroyed  the  power  of  his 
sister  Sophia.'— From  the  '  Life  of  S.  SergiusJ  by  Philard,  Metropolitan 
of  Moscow* 

The  lands  of  the  monastery,  curtailed  by  Peter  the  Great, 
were  taken  away  by  Catherine  II.  At  the  confiscation  it 
was  found  that  the  Troitsa  possessed  107,000  peasants,  which 
at  present  would  represent  an  estate  of  about  3,750,0007. 
Napoleon  sent  out  from  Moscow  to  destroy  the  Troitsa, 
but  it  is  believed  that  the  Virgin  and  S.  Sergius  saved  it. 

The  great  office  of  archimandrite  of  the  Troitsa  has 
long  been  considered  too  great  to  be  held  by  any  but  the 
metropolitan,  and  the  hegumenos  or  prior,  one  of  the 
greatest  dignitaries  in  Russia,  still  lives  in  the  greatest  state, 
though  supported  now  entirely  by  the  offerings  of  pilgrims. 

The  '  monastery '  is  surrounded  by  embattled  walls,  one 
mile  in  circuit,  upon  which  a  raised  covered  way  affords  a 
most  agreeable  walk.  In  one  of  the  towers  is  a  dungeon 
and  oubliette,  made  by  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

'  A  fine  arched  gateway  opens  from  the  public  square  into  the  outer 
courts,  and  entering  you  find  yourself  in  the  sacred  precincts— large 
grassy  places,  shady  trees,  paved  pathways,  broad  and  orderly,  churches, 
offices,  halls — a  picturesque  carelessness  of  arrangement,  a  rich  and 
beautiful  seclusion,  a  place  of  repose  and  rest,  of  study  and  meditation. 
That  peculiar  charm  pervades  it  which  one  experiences  on  entering  a 
cathedral.  You  feel  inclined  to  sit  down  and  be  silent,  and  let  your 
spirit  partake  of  the  beauty  and  sentiment  of  the  genius  lociS—G*  T. 
Lowth. 


346  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

As  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow  is  not  merely  a  palace 
but  a  town,  so  the  Troitsa  is  not  merely  a  monastery  but  a 
town,  with  an  imperial  palace,  archiepiscopal  palace,  nine 
churches,  a  hospital,  a  bazaar,  and  innumerable  dwellings. 
Avenues  of  lime  trees  intersect  the  enclosure,  in  which  a 
vast  republic  of  crows  and  ravens  dwells  unmolested.  In 
the  centre  is  the  great  bell-tower  of  Rastrelli  (1769),  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  with  a  chime  of  thirty-five  bells. 
The  oldest  of  the  churches  is  the  Troitsa  (Trinity),  which  is 
entered  through  a  portico  used  as  a  bazaar,  full  of  tapers, 
icons,  oil-cans,  and  printed  forms  urging  visitors  not  to  be 
beguiled  into  buying  outside,  as  the  church  wares  are  better. 
The  lamps  and  tapers  are  to  be  offered  to  S.  Sergius,  whose 
shrine  of  silver  weighs  936  Ibs. 

'  They  showed  me  a  coffin  covered  with  cloth  of  gold  which  stood e 
upon  one  side  within  their  church,  in  which  they  told  me  lay  a  holy 
man,  who  never  eate  or  dranke,  and  yet  that  he  liueth.  And  they  told 
me  (supposing  that  I  had  beleeued  them)  that  hehealeth  many  diseases, 
and  giueth  the  blind  their  sight,  with  many  other  miracles,  but  I  was 
hard  of  belieuf  because  I  saw  him  work  no  miracle  whilest  I  was  there.' 
— Anthonie  Jenkinsoii)  1 557. 

Ivan  the  Terrible  (Ivan  IV.),  brought  hither  from  Moscow 
ten  days  after  his  birth,  was  laid  upon  this  tomb  by  his 
father,  Vassili  Ivanovitch,  with  the  prayer  that  S.  Sergius 
would  be  his  guide  and  protector  through  life.1 

Painted  on  portions  of  the  coffin  of  the  saint  are  two 
portraits  of  him,  which  are  copied  in  a  hundred  thousand 
icons  all  over  Russia.  With  one  of  the  original  portraits  in 
his  hands,  the  unfortunate  Grand  Prince  Vassili  (1446)  vainly 
sought  a  refuge  in  the  church  against  the  myrmidons  of  his 

1  Karamsin,  vii. 


THE    TROITSA.  347 

cruel  cousin  Shemiaka,  by  whom  he  was  dragged  to  Moscow, 
where  his  eyes  were  put  out.  The  Tsar  Alexis,  and  after- 
wards Peter  the  Great,  carried  one  of  the  portraits  into  battle  ; 
for  Peter,  who  had  a  small  opinion  of  icons  in  general, 
had  a  great  veneration  for  those  of  the  Troitsa,  which  twice 
gave  him  a  refuge  from  the  streltsi  in  his  early  life.  The 
picture  of  S.  Sergius  he  looked  upon  as  a  palladium  in  all 
his  campaigns,  and  it  is  inscribed  with  the  names  of  all 
the  battles  and  sieges  at  which  it  has  been  present. 

It  is  believed  that  S.  Sergius  has  already  several  times 
appeared  to  warn  his  country  of  dangers,  or  to  avert  them  ; 
and,  according  to  Innocent  of  Odessa,  he  has  still  to  appear 
again.1 

The  Church  of  the  Rest  of  the  Virgin  (Uspenski  Sobor)  is 
the  largest  and  most  gorgeous  of  the  monastic  churches.  It 
has  five  cupolas.  The  baluster  pillars  of  the  entrance  sup- 
port an  arch  with  a  pendant  in  the  middle— a  strange  design, 
which  Russian  architects  are  never  weary  of  repeating,  but 
which  is  at  least  original.  The  great  roll  over  the  door  may 
also  be  observed  as  a  peculiar  (and  ugly  ?)  characteristic  of 
Russian  architecture.  Within  the  church  we  may  see  the 
representation — often  repeated  in  Russia — of  S.  Sophia 
(Divine  Wisdom)  and  her  three  daughters,  Vera,  Nadezhda, 
and  Liubof  (Faith,  Hope,  and  Love). 

In  this  church  rests  at  last  the  Tsar  Boris  Godunof 
(1584-1605).  After  the  death  of  Feodor  Ivanovitch,  who 
had  married  his  sister  Irene,  he  had  been  raised  to  the  throne, 
elected,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  the  landed  proprietors 
and  the  clergy.  The  former  he  had  gained  over  by  per- 
suading Feodor  to  publish  a  ukaz  interdicting  peasants  for 

1  See  his  sermon  at  Sebastopol. 


348  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

ever  from  passing  from  the  lands  of  one  proprietor  to  those 
of  another,  and  thus  instituting  in  Russia  the  serfdom  of  the 
East.  With  this  he  combined  great  views  for  the  education 
of  his  people.  The  clergy  he  had  conciliated  by  inducing 
Feodor  to  found  the  patriarchate. 

'  Les  ecclesiastiques  russes  se  plaignaient  avec  raison  d'obeir  a  ties 
patriarchies  qui  etaient  eux-memes  des  esclaves  des  infideles.  L'ancienne 
Rome  etait  souillee  par  le  papisme  ;  Constantinople,  la  seconde  Rome, 
etait  profanee  par  le  Turc  ;  Moscou,  la  troisieme  Rome,  n'etait-elle 
pas  en  clroit  d'avoir  au  moins  1'independance  ?  Boris  encourageait  les 
reclamations.  II  profita  du  passage  a  Moscou  de  Jeremie,  patriarche 
de  Constantinople,  pour  1'engager  a  fonder  le  patriarchal  russe.' — 
Rainbaud. 

In  1605  Boris  fortunately  died  in  peace  (though  some 
say  of  poison),  recommending  his  son  to  the  care  of  the 
powerful  boyar  Basmanof,  and,  after  the  custom  of  dying 
Tsars,  receiving  the  monastic  habit,  and  changing  his  name 
(to  Bogolup).  But  the  false  Dmitri  was  then  approaching 
Moscow.  Basmanof  betrayed  his  young  master,  who  was 
murdered  together  with  the  widowed  Tsaritsa  j  and  the  body 
of  the  Tsar  Boris,  buried  in  state  with  his  predecessors,  was 
exhumed  from  the  church  of  S.  Michael,  and  treated  with 
great  ignominy.  It  is  at  the  Troitsa  that  Boris  has  at  length 
found  a  resting-place  ;  and  to  the  same  grave,  from  the 
monastery  where  they  were  first  buried,  have  been  trans- 
ferred the  bodies  of  his  innocent  son  Feodor,  a  youth  of 
great  promise,  and  of  his  wife  Maria,  who,  as  daughter  of 
the  infamous  Malouta  Skouratovitch,  the  ciuel  instrument 
of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  had  inherited  a  legacy  of  popular 
hatred,  yet  had  lived  to  overcome  it  by  a  life  of  gentleness 
and  chanty.  In  this  church  we  also  find  tombs  of  the 


THE   TROITSA.  349 

Princes  Odeyevski,  Galitzin,  Trubetskoi,  Volinski,  Soltikov, 
Glinski,  Varotinski,  Shuiski,  Pojarskoi,  Skopni,  and  Mest- 
cherski — names  which  occur  frequently  in  the  history  of 
Russia.  The  traveller  Clarke  was  present  here  at  the 
funeral  of  Prince  Galitzin. 

1  The  lid  of  the  coffin  being  removed,  the  body  of  the  prince  was 
exposed  to  view,  and  all  the  relatives,  servants,  slaves,  and  other 
attendants,  began  the  salutation,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country. 
Each  person,  walking  round  the  corpse,  made  prostration  before  it,  and 
kissed  the  lips  of  the  deceased.  The  venerable  figure  of  an  old  slave 
presented  a  most  affecting  spectacle.  He  threw  himself  flat  on  the 
pavement  with  a  degree  of  violence  ;  and,  quite  stunned  by  the  blow, 
remained  a  few  seconds  insensible  ;  afterwards,  his  loud  lamentations 
were  heard,  and  we  saw  him  tearing  off  and  scattering  his  white  hairs. 
He  had,  according  to  the  custom  of  Russia,  received  his  liberty  upon 
the  death  of  the  prince  ;  but  choosing  rather  to  consign  himself  for  the 
remainder  of  his  days  to  a  convent,  he  retired  for  ever  from  the  world, 
saying,  "  Since  his  dear  old  master  was  dead,  there  was  no  one  living 
who  cared  for  him."' — Clarke's  '  Travels.* 

Outside  the  church  is  the  tomb  of  Maria,  Queen  of 
Livonia,  the  only  person  who  bore  that  title,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Ivan  Vassilievitch.  She  married  Magnus,  Duke 
of  Holstein,  made  titular  king  of  Livonia  by  Ivan  Vassiiie- 
vitch  II.,  who  removed  him  ignominiously  from  his  throne 
four  years  later.  During  the  reign  of  Feodor,  Queen  Maria 
and  her  daughter  Eudoxia  were  shut  up  in  a  convent '  by 
Boris  Godunof,  who  dreaded  their  claim  to  the  throne  on 
the  death  of  the  sovereign.  They  rest  together  near  the 
tomb  of  their  persecutor.  A  two-headed  eagle  commemo- 
rates the  concealment  of  Peter  the  Great  from  the  streltsi 
in  this  church. 

1  See  Karamsin. 


350  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  Natalia  (the  Tsaritsa)  was  permitted  to  conceal  herself,  not  only 
within  the  precincts  of  the  convent,  not  only  within  the  walls  of  the 
principal  church,  but  behind  the  sacred  screen,  beside  the  altar  itself, 
where,  by  the  rules  of  the  Eastern  Church,  no  woman's  foot  is  allowed 
to  enter.  That  altar  (still  remaining  on  the  same  spot)  stood  between 
the  past  and  the  future  destinies  of  Russia.  On  one  side  of  it  crouched 
the  mother  and  her  son  ;  on  the  other,  the  fierce  soldiers  were  waving 
their  swords  over  the  head  of  the  royal  child.  "  Comrade,  not  before 
the  altar  ! "  exclaimed  the  more  pious  or  the  more  merciful  of  the  two 
assassins.  At  that  moment  a  troop  of  faithful  cavalry  galloped  into  the 
courtyard,  and  Peter  was  saved." — Stanley r,  '  The  Eastern  Church."1 ' 

Very  near  this  church  is  a  well,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  dug  by  S.  Sergius,  though  only  discovered  in  1644, 
when  the  convent  was  grievously  in  need  of  water. 

The  Church  of  S.  Sergius,  built  1692,  contains  curious 
frescoes.  In  the  Church  of  S.  Peter  is  a  remarkable  picture 
of  the  Temptation.  For  forty  days  after  death,  it  is  said, 
the  soul  is  attended  by  its  guardian-angels  who  conduct  it 
on  the  road  towards  heaven,  but  it  is  met  by  the  remem- 
brance of  all  its  sins,  and  assailed  by  all  temptations  which 
have  been  victorious  in  its  past  life.  The  Church  of  the 
Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  founded  by  Ivan  the  Great 
after  the  capture  of  Kazan.  It  was  Archbishop  Bassian  of 
Rostoff,  formerly  prior  of  the  Troitsa,  who  had  urged  the  Tsar 
to  battle  when  he  had  returned  from  his  camp  to  Moscow. 
'  Dost  thou  fear  death  ?  '  he  wrote  ;  '  thou  too  must  die  as 
well  as  others.  Death  is  the  lot  of  all,  of  man,  beast,  and 
bird  alike  ;  none  can  avoid  it.  Give  thy  warriors  into  my 
hand,  and,  old  as  I  am,  I  will  not  spare  myself,  and  will 

1  It  is  said  that  twenty  years  after  Peter  recognised  the  soldier  who  had  threatened 
him,  though  disguised  in  a  seaman's  dress,  and  started  back  with  an  instinct  of  horror. 
Peter  forgave  him,  but  forbade  him  ever  to  appear  again  in  his  presence,  as  not  daring 
to  trust  himself  to  look  at  the  man  who  had  once  so  filled  him  with  terror.  See 
Stahlin,  26. 


THE   TROITSA.  351 

never  turn  my  back  upon  the  Tartars.'  Upon  this  Ivan  took 
courage,  and  went  back  to  his  camp  :  Achmet  Khan  fled 
without  fighting,  the  Golden  Horde  had  armed  itself  for 
the  last  time,  and  Russia  was  set  free  for  ever. 

The  Church  of  Philaret  the  Benefactor  was  only  conse- 
crated in  1867,  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  episcopate 
of  the  beloved  metropolitan  Philaret,  who  was  buried  at  the 
Troitsa,  November  1867.  Of  all  well-known  Russian  monks, 
Philaret  was  perhaps  the  one  who  most  devoutly  endeavoured 
to  follow  the  teachings  of  the  founder,  S.  Basil,  by  whom  a 
monk  was  defined  as  one  whose  prayer  is  continual,  who 
mingles  it  with  the  daily  duties  of  life,  whose  heart  is  con- 
stantly lifted  up  to  God,  and  whose  chief  object  in  study  is 
to  purify  his  soul  by  ceaseless  meditation  on  the  teaching  of 
Holy  Scripture.1 

The  tombs  of  the  metropolitans  and  bishops  buried  at  the 
Troitsa  are  amongst  the  most  interesting  objects  it  contains, 
but  it  will  be  difficult  for  strangers  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  explanation  of  their  Russian  guides.  They  are  mostly 
covered  with  rich  palls,  and  many  have  burning  lamps. 
They  include  the  tombs  of  S.  Serapion,  the  deposed  Lord  of 
Novogorod  (1511),  who  died  here  in  the  act  of  prayer,  and  by 
his  side  the  holy  metropolitan  Joasaph  (1539),  also  deposed, 
early  in  the  reign  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

The  treasury  is  full  of  priceless  robes,  jewels,  and  plate, 
offered  to  the  monastery,  for  in  the  offerings  of  its  pilgrims 
the  Troitsa  maybe  regarded  as  the  Loretto  of  Russia,  indeed 
there  are  said  to  be  more  pearls  here  than  in  all  the  rest  of 
Europe  put  together.  In  one  of  the  mitres  of  the  archi- 
mandrite is  a  ruby  valued  at  five  thousand  roubles.  An- 

1   See  the  Letters  of  S.  Basil  to  S.  Gregory  Nazianzen. 


3C2  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

other  mitre  is  worth  fifty  thousand  roubles,  and  a  panagion 
thirty  thousand,  both  presented  by  the  Empress  Elizabeth.1 
Nothing,  however,  is  so  interesting  as  the  rude  wooden 
chalice  and  paten,  and  the  primitive  hair  dress  of  the  founder, 
S.  Sergius.  The  hunting-coat  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  an  ivory 
ball  which  Peter  the  Great  turned  when  he  was  here,  and  a 
polished  agate  on  which  a  crucifix  appears  by  a  freak  of 
nature,  are  shown  amongst  the  curiosities. 

'  On  dit  qu'un  homme  en  Russia  avait  propose  cle  composer  un 
alphabet  avec  des  pierres  precieuses,  et  d'ecrire  ainsi  la  Bible.  II  con- 
naissait  la  meilleure  maniere  d'interesser  a  la  lecture  1'imagination  des 
Russes. ' — Madame  de  Stacl. 

There  is  a  noble  Refectory,  always  smelling  terribly  of  the 
cabbage  they  adore,  where  the  four  hundred  monks  dine, 
and  an  outhouse  for  the  pilgrims,  who  are  fed  on  rye  bread 
and  soup,  and  permitted  to  sleep  upon  sacking  in  a  kind  of 
loft.  There  is  also  a  Hospital  for  the  pilgrims,  with  a 
separate  room  on  the  ground  floor  for  those  who  are  dying. 
The  Theological  Academy,  founded  by  Elizabeth  in  1749, 
has  above  a  hundred  students. 

The  little  residences  of  the  monks  are  very  comfortably 
furnished,  and  their  inmates  may  have  their  own  books, 
birds,  and  flowers.  Multitudes  of  pigeons  flit  about  the  whole 
enclosure,  always  sacred  in  Russia  as  a  living  picture  (obraz) 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  At  a  baker's  shop  the  holy  bread  of 
S.  Sergius  is  sold  to  visitors  and  pilgrims.  It  is  much  sought 
after,  partly  no  doubt  on  account  of  its  real  excellence  as 
bread. 

The  most  glorious   days  of  the  monastery  were  those 

1  King. 


THE   TROITSA.  353 

when  the  rest  of  Russia  was  most  miserable,  the  troublous 
times  of  the  usurpers  who  succeeded  Boris  Godunof,  for  :— 

'  When  there  was  no  longer  either  Tsar  or  Patriarch,  when  Moscow 
itself,  as  one  might  almost  say,  had  ceased  to  exist,  being  weighed 
down  for  a  year  and  a  half  under  the  Polish  yoke,  the  Laura  became 
the  heart  of  all  Russia.  Its  superior  Dionysius  alone  took  the  place  of 
all  the  other  authorities,  and  as  the  visible  representative  of  the  protec- 
tion of  S.  Sergius,  overshadowed  with  his  influence  the  whole  land  of 
Russia,  and  drew  her  together  around  the  ruins  of  the  capital. ' — 
Motiravieff. 

Since  that  time  the  Troitsa  has  ever  been  one  of  the  most 
sacred  places  in  Russia,  and  pilgrimages  to  the  grave  of  S. 
Sergius  have  never  ceased.  We  read  of  the  Court  procession 
of  Alexis  to  the  Troitsa  in  September  1675  — 

'  Immediately  after  the  carriage  of  the  Tsar  there  appeared  from 
another  gate  of  the  palace  the  carriage  of  the  Tsaritsa.  In  front  went 
the  chamberlains  with  two  hundred  runners,  after  which  twelve  large 
snow-white  horses,  covered  with  silk  housings,  drew  the  carnage  of  the 
Tsaritsa.  Then  followed  the  small  carriage  of  the  youngest  prince,1  all 
glittering  with  gold,  drawn  by  four  dwarf  ponies.  At  the  side  of  it 
rode  four  dwarfs  on  ponies,  and  another  one  behind.' — Adolph  Lyseck 
(Secretary  to  the  Austrian  Embassy}. 

A  tower  is  pointed  out  whence  the  boy  Peter  shot  ducks 
when  he  was  taking  refuge  here  with  his  mother  from  the 
streltsi.  When,  in  1689,  he  escaped  hither  again,  flying  from 
Sophia  and  the  streltsi,  he  arrived  at  6  A.M.,  so  weary  that  he 
had  to  be  lifted  from  his  horse  and  put  to  bed.  His  mother, 
his  wife  Eudoxia,  and  his  sister  Natalia,  arrived  two  hours 
later. 

About  two  miles  from  the  Troitsa,  prettily  situated  near 
a  lake  in  the  woods,  is  the  religious  establishment  of  Vefania 

1  Peter  the  Great. 

A  A 


354  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

(Bethany),  a  very  singular  place,  which  became  a  centre  of 
ecclesiastical  education  under  the  famous  metropolitan  Plato, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Several  churches 
are  distributed  over  the  pretty  garden  enclosure,  brilliant 
with  flowers  in  summer,  where  long-robed,  long-haired  priests 
are  always  pacing  between  the  box  hedges,  and  the  hum  of 
bees  mingles  with  the  eternal  wail  of  the  church  music. 
The  simple,  quiet,  pretty  rooms  of  Plato  are  preserved,  with 
a  lovely  view  of  flowers  and  verdure.  An  inscription  here 
records  a  visit  when  the  Emperor  Paul,  with  his  wife  and 
children,  came  to  dine  with  him.  Over  the  door  is  inscribed, 
'  Let  him  who  enters  here  forbear  to  carry  out  the  dirt  he 
finds  within.'  Archbishop  Plato  used  to  converse  with  his 
visitors  in  Greek.  He  was  tutor  to  the  Grand  Dukes 
Alexander  and  Constantine,and  composed  a  liberal  catechism 
for  their  use.  Many  anecdotes  are  recorded  showing  his  in- 
dependence of  spirit ;  amongst  others,  of  his  being  desired  to 
draw  up  a  form  of  prayer  for  the  success  of  the  Russian  arms, 
and  refusing  to  do  so.  '  If  the  Russians  are  really  penitent, 
let  them  shut  up  all  their  places  of  public  amusement  for  a 
month,  then  I  will  celebrate  public  prayers.' 

The  old  Church  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  ('  the  Mountain 
of  the  Ascension  of  Jesus  Christ ')  contains  a  curious  repre- 
sentation of  the  hills  and  valleys  round  Jerusalem,  with  their 
olive  trees,  and  shepherds  with  their  flocks.  On  the  altar  is 
a  reliquary  adorned  with  enamel  pictures  which  belonged 
to  Louis  XVI.,  and  was  given  by  Louis  XVIII.  to  the  metro- 
politan Plato.  Beneath  the  rock  is  a  subterranean  chapel 
warmed  by  a  stove,  having  on  the  right  a  cell  which  contains 
two  coffins,  one  bitten  through  by  peasants  suffering  from 
toothache,  being  that  of  the  founder,  the  other  being  that  of 


BETHANY  AND   GETHSEMANE.  355 

Plato,  bearing  his  figure,  standing  upon  the  spot  which  he 
pointed  out  to  Reginald  Heber  in  1805.  His  robes  are  pre- 
served in  cases. 

'  The  space  beneath  the  rocks  is  occupied  by  a  small  chapel,  fur- 
nished with  a  stove  for  winter  devotion  ;  and  on  the  right  is  a  little  narrow 
cell  containing  two  coffins,  one  of  which  is  empty,  and  destined  for  the 
present  archbishop  ;  the  other  contains  the  bones  of  the  founder  of  the 
monastery,  who  is  regarded  as  a  saint.  The  oak  coffin  was  almost  bit 
to  pieces  by  different  persons  afflicted  with  the  toothache  ;  for  which 
a  rub  on  this  board  is  a  specific.  Plato  laughed  as  he  told  us  this,  but 
said,  "As  they  do  it  de  ban  cceur,  I  would  not  undeceive  them."' — 
Reginald  Hebe^s  ' Journal. ' 

When  the  Emperor  Joseph  II.  returned  from  Russia, 
being  asked  what  he  had  found  most  admirable  there,  he  re- 
plied, '  The  metropolitan,  Plato.' 

A  very  short  walk  takes  us  from  the  ' -gay  retreat  M  of 
Bethany  to  the  hermitages  of  Gethsemane,  connected  with 
the  next  great  metropolitan,  Philaret,  of  austere  and  severe 
character.  He  worked  and  scolded  incessantly,  so  that  it 
used  to  be  said  that  his  daily  fare  was  '  one  gudgeon  and 
three  priests.'  He  was  one  of  the  three  persons  to  whom 
the  great  State  secret  was  known,  which  transferred  the 
empire  from  Constantine  to  Nicholas  on  the  death  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  he  crowned  both  Nicholas  and 
Alexander  II. 

'  I  saw  him  on  the  festival  of  the  Sleep  of  the  Virgin,  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  the  Kremlin.  His  position  there  was  such  as  might  have  ex- 
cited envy  in  the  minds  not  only  of  English  Ritualists,  but  of  the  highest 
Popes  and  Cardinals  of  the  West.  Never  have  I  seen  such  respect 
paid  to  any  ecclesiastic  ;  not  only  during  all  the  elaborations  of  the 
Russian  ceremonial— when  with  the  utmost  simplicity  he  bore  the 

1  A.  P.  Stanley. 


356  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

clothing  and  unclothing,  and  even  the  passing  to  and  fro  of  the  broad 
comb  through  the  outstanding  flakes  of  his  hair  and  beard— or  when  he 
stood  on  the  carpet  where  was  embroidered  the  old  Roman  eagle  of  the 
Pagan  Empire  -  -  but  still  more  at  the  moment  of  his  departure.  He 
came  out  for  the  last  time  in  order  to  give  his  blessing,  and  then  de- 
scended the  chancel  steps  to  leave  the  church.  Had  he  been  made  of 
pure  gold,  and  had  every  touch  carried  away  a  fragment  of  him,  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  could  have  hardly  been  greater  to  kiss  his 
hand,  or  lay  a  finger  on  the  hem  of  his  garment.  The  crowd  franti- 
cally tossed  to  and  fro,  as  they  struggled  towards  him  -men,  officers, 
soldiers.  Faintly  and  slowly  his  white  cowl l  was  seen  moving  on  and 
out  of  the  church,  till  he  plunged  into  another  vaster  crowd  outside  ; 
and  when  at  last  he  drove  off  in  his  coach,  drawn  by  six  black  horses, 
everyone  stood  bareheaded  as  he  passed.  The  sounding  of  all  the  bells 
of  all  the  churches  in  each  street  as  the  carriage  went  by,  made  it  easy 
to  track  his  course  long  after  he  was  out  of  sight.' — A.  P.  Stanley ', 
(  Essays  on  CJmrch  and  State, ,' 

In  the  Church  of  the  Gethsemane  is  another  rocky  plat- 
form, whence  there  is  a  descent  to  a  crypt,  which  is  crowded 
by  pilgrims,  especially  on  the  '  Women's  Day,'  the  only  one 
in  the  year  when  they  are  admitted.  Hence  visitors  descend 
with  lighted  tapers  into  some  small  catacombs,  in  which  one 
cavern  has  a  fountain  and  another  a  well.  Even  recently 
anchorites  have  been  shut  up  here  for  years  together,  never 
seeing  the  light  of  day. 

At  a  convent  in  a  wood  at  Khaloff,  a  few  miles  from  the 
Troitsa,  the  traveller  may  venerate  the  relics  of  SS.  Cyrillus 
and  Mary,  parents  of  S.  Sergius. 


A  very  interesting  circular  tour  may  be  made  by  con- 
tinuing the  line  of  railway  to  Rostoff  and  Yaroslaf,  descending 

1  A  white  klobduk,  or  cowl,  is  the  distinguishing  mark  of  all  prelates  who  bear 
the  title  of  metropolitan  in  Russia  as  those  of  S  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Kieff,  and 
Kazan. 


THE  PLESTCHEIEF  LAKE.  357 

the  Volga  to  Kostroma  and  Nijni  Novogorod,  and  returning 
to  Moscow  by  Vladimir. 

A  little  to  the  left  of  the  line  to  Rostoff,  about  fifty  miles 
beyond  the  Troitsa,  near  Pereyaslavl,  is  the  Plestcheief  Lake, 
where  Peter  the  Great,  as  a  boy  of  thirteen,  in  1688-89.  built 
boats  with  the  help  of  Dutch  workmen.  On  its  east  shore  is 
the  site  of  a  church  dedicated  to  S.  Mary  of  the  Ships,  and  the 
decaying  remains  of  piles  under  water,  which  formed  a  land- 
ing-stage.1 Of  Peter's  whole  flotilla  only  one  small  boat  re- 
mains, preserved  in  a  special  building,  under  the  guardianship 
of  the  local  nobles.  His  first  launch  is,  however,  annually 
commemorated  in  a  festival  on  the  sixth  Sunday  after 
Easter,  when  all  the  clergy  of  Pereyaslavl,  attended  by  a 
throng  of  people,  sail  in  a  barge  to  the  middle  of  the  lake, 
to  bless  the  waters.2  It  was  hence  that  Peter  wrote  : — • 

'  To  my  most  beloved  and,  while  bodily  life  endures,  dearest  little 
mother,  Lady  Tsaritsa  and  Grand -Duchess  Nacalia  Kirilovna, — Thy 
little  son,  now  here  at  work,  Petrushka,  I  ask  thy  blessing,  and  desire 
to  hear  about  thy  health,  and  we,  through  thy  prayers,  are  all  well, 
and  the  lake  is  all  got  clear  from  the  ice  to-day,  and  all  the  boats, 
except  the  big  ship,  are  finished,  only  we  are  waiting  for  ropes,  and 
therefore  I  beg  your  kindness  that  these  ropes,  seven  hundred  fathoms 
long,  be  sent  from  the  Artillery  Department  without  delaying,  for  the 
work  is  waiting  for  them,  and  our  sojourn  here  is  being  prolonged. 
For  this  I  ask  your  blessing. — From  Pereyaslavl,  April  29  (O.S.)  1689.' 

The  oft-repeated  story  of  Peter's  terror  of  water  and  the 
convulsions  it  caused,  is  entirely  without  foundation.3 

The  historic  town  of  Rostoff  has  a  grand  cathedral 
dedicated  to  The  Rest  of  the  Virgin,  dating  from  1213-31. 
The  railway  may  be  followed  from  hence  to  Yaroslaf( Hotel 

1  See  Schuyler's  Life  of  Peter  the  Great,  i.  273. 
2  Ustrialof,  ii.  332.  J  Schuyler. 


358  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA 

Kokiief)  which  retains  part  of  its  ancient  Kremlin,  and 
possesses  several  very  fine  churches,  chiefly  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  There  is  a  famous  Legal  College  here, 
owing  its  foundation,  in  1805,  to  the  head  of  the  house 
of  DemidofT,  which  has  risen  during  the  last  century  to  be 
one  of  the  richest  and  most  important  in  Russia. 

'The  Demidoffs  are  descendants  of  a  very  industrious  working 
miner,  who  had  a  small  iron  mine  on  the  confines  of  Siberia.  Peter 
the  Great,  on  visiting  the  spot,  was  much  pleased  with  the  activity  and 
reputation  for  honesty  of  Demidoff;  and  being  anxious  to  encourage 
the  working  of  mines,  and  also  to  set  an  example  of  emulation  for 
others,  made  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever  a  present  of  an  extensive 
district  immediately  surrounding  his  small  patrimonial  mine,  with  full 
liberty  to  work  it.  The  enormous  extent  of  ground  thus  obtained 
proved  a  source  of  inexhaustible  wealth  to  the  good  miner,  for  it  was 
found  to  cover  some  of  the  richest  veins  of  iron,  of  the  finest  quality,  in 
Russia.  The  produce  soon  enriched  the  industrious  proprietor,  and 
his  son  having  continued  to  work  the  mine,  and  to  explore  more 
ground,  was  enabled  to  employ  the  enormous  capital  thus  acquired  in 
purchasing  additional  estates,  and,  amongst  others,  one  in  which  a 
gold  mine  was  discovered  soon  after,  that  has  yielded,  on  an  average, 
1 00,6797.  annually  in  pure  gold. 

'  When  Peter  learned  how  valuable  a  subject  he  had  rewarded  in 
old  Demidoff,  he  wished  to  see  him  placed  in  the  class  of  nobles. 
After  some  hesitation  the  old  man  consented  to  receive  his  sovereign's 
further  bounty,  and,  being  asked  what  his  arms  should  be,  he  answered, 
"A  miner's  hammer,  that  my  posterity  may  never  forget  the  source  of 
their  wealth  and  prosperity.'" — A.  B.  Granville. 

A  thousand  years  ago  the  whole  province  of  Yaroslaf  was 
inhabited  by  the  Finns,  who,  as  a  rule  have  been  absorbed 
by  'the  pure  Slavonians,  but  a  few  Finnish  villages  remain. 

At  Yaroslaf  we  find  the  mighty  Volga— 'great  mother 
Volga' l— which  rises  near  the  plateau  of  Valdai  and  flows 

1  One  of  the  famous  songs  of  the  Bourlaki  begins  '  In  descending  the  Volga,  our 
mother.' 


KOSTROMA.  359 

for  2,320  miles  through  the  length  of  Russia  into  the 
Caspian.  The  river  steamer  may  be  taken  to  Kostroma 
(Hotel  Kostroma)  a  place  of  great  interest,  with  a  grand 
cathedral  of  The  Rest  of  the  Virgin,  built  in  1239,  and 
little  altered,  being  still  of  extreme  interest  and  picturesque- 
ness.  Outside  the  town  is  the  Monastery  of  Ipatief,  where 
Michael  Romanoff  was  concealed  during  the  Polish  in- 
vasion, and  where  he  was  found  by  the  boyars  when  they 
came  to  oifer  him  the  crown  of  Russia.  The  chair  is  still 
shown  in  which  they  saw  Michael,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  seated 
on  their  arrival.  It  is  said  that  when  the  Poles  learnt  his 
election,  they  sent  armed  men  to  seize  Michael  at  Kostroma. 
A  peasant,  Ivan  Soussanine,  being  employed  as  their  guide, 
purposely  misled  them  into  the  depths  of  the  forest,  where 
he  died  under  their  blows  that  he  might  save  his  prince 
from  their  hands.  This  is  the  subject  of  the  famous  opera 
of  Glinka — '  Life  for  the  Tsar.'  The  unanimity  of  all  classes 
in  the  election  of  Michael  is  very  striking. 

'  It  was  decided  that  all  Christian  men  should  fast  for  three  days, 
and  pray  to  God  that  He  would  graciously  bestow  upon  them  a  just 
and  religious  sovereign,  and  that  their  choice  might  proceed  from  the 
King  of  kings,  and  not  from  men.  Consequently  a  general  fast  was 
observed,  so  strictly  that  neither  men,  women,  nor  children  ate  or 
drank  anything  for  three  days,  and  even  infants  were  not  allowed 
to  take  the  breast.  After  this  they  proceeded  to  the  election,  it 
having  previously  been  decided  that  every  class  of  subject  should  give 
in  writing  the  name  of  him  whom  they  preferred. 

'  The  assembly  were  astonished  on  examining  all  the  papers,  for 
they  all  named  one  and  the  same  person,  namely,  Michael,  the  nephew 
of  the  Tsar  Feodor  Ivanovitch,  and  the  son  of  him  who  was  once  the 
great  boyar  Feodor  Niketivitch  Romanoff,  but  who  was  then  named 
Philaret,  metropolitan  of  Rostoff,  and  was  at  that  time  suffering  on 
behalf  of  his  country  in  Warsaw.' — Archbishop  Plato. 


360  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

The  river  steamer  affords  the  pleasantest  journey  from 
Kostroma  to  Nijni-Novogorod  (Hotel  Lopashef),  the  Lower 
Novogorod,  which  was  a  colony  from  Novogorod  the  Great. 
This  place  would  not  be  much  worth  visiting  except  at  the 
time  of  its  famous  fair,  unless  it  were  for  its  magnificent 
position  on  the  great  river,  which  is  here  joined  by  the  Oka. 
There  is  a  very  fine  view  from  the  citadel  which  rises  above 
the  small  town  of  common  life  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Volga.  On  the  plain  on  the  northern  bank,  approached  by 
roads  deep  in  dust  or  heavy  mud,  is  held  the  Yarmarka 
(Jahrmarkt),  or  fair,  with  its  streets  and  alleys  of  Muscovite, 
Armenian,  Turkish,  Chinese,  and  Tartar  sheds.  The 
Chinese  houses  have  an  especially  odd  effect,  with  their 
projecting  roofs  and  .yellow  bells  at  the  corners  ;  but  the 
picturesque  effects  and  costumes  of  the  fair,  so  often 
described,  have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Of  late  years, 
since  the  introduction  of  railways,  the  importance  of  the 
fair  has  been  dwindling.  '  Why  should  not  the  goods  be 
brought  to  Moscow  ?  '  is  the  constant  cry  ;  and  a  traveller's 
visit  to  Nijni-Novogorod  will  soon  be  a  tale  of  the  past. 
Those  who  go  there  now  will  be  amused  by  a  dinner  at  the 
great  restaurant,  where  sterlets  of  the  Volga  are  the  fashion- 
able delicacy.  In  this  town  of  many  nations,  Mahommedan 
mosque  and' Armenian  church  stand  side  by  side  with  the 
Orthodox  cathedral. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  during  the  Polish  occupa- 
tion— 


'  It  was  in  Nijni  that  the  spark  of  pure  self-devotion  broke  out 
in  the  heart  of  the  citizen  Minin,  who  found  his  example  responded  to 
by  the  whole  nation.  There  also  the  military  force  which  was  to  free 


DESCENT  OF   THE    VOLGA.  361 

the  country  was  concentrated    under  the   command  of  Pojarskoi.'— 
Afouravieff, 

(Steamers  leave  Nijni  at  n  A.M.  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays, 
and  Fridays,  for  Kazan,  returning  at  8  A.M.  on  Sundays, 
Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Thursdays.  This  voyage,  which 
may  be  performed  with  tolerable  comfort,  will  show  an 
ordinary  traveller  far  more  than  he  can  otherwise  have  an 
opportunity  of  seeing,  of  the  interior  of  Russia.  The 
scenery  is  very  monotonous  and  never  more  than  slightly 
pretty.  The  right  bank  is  sometimes  steep,  but  on  the 
left  it  is  always  flat  and  marshy.  Between  Nijni  and  Kazan 
the  steamer  passes  through  several  of  the  Tcheremiss  villages 
of  Finnish  origin,  whose  industrious  inhabitants  are  almost 
pagan  in  their  faith  and  customs.  They  believe,  however, 
in  another  life  after  death,  in  which  they  are  punished  or 
rewarded,  bad  men  becoming  evil  spirits,  who  return  to 
torment  the  living.  They  believe  that  there  is  constant 
warfare  between  the  good  and  bad  gods,  and  that  the  chief 
of  the  latter  is  Shaitan,  whose  Tcheremiss  name  is  Y6,  who 
dwells  in  the  west,  and  whose  time  of  power  is  the  dinner- 
hour.  Except  weeding  the  ground,  the  Tcheremiss  do  no 
work  for  a  period  of  three  weeks  during  the  corn  blossom, 
considering  it  sinful.  At  the  end  of  that  time  there  is  a 
great  holiday,  and  all  the  people  proceed  to  a  spot  in  the 
woods,  where  cows,  sheep,  and  fowls  are  sacrificed.  These 
must  first  be  purchased,  but  no  bargaining  is  allowed  ;  that 
would  be  a  sin. 

'  This  is  the  highest  festival  of  the  Tcheremiss,  dedicated  to  Yum, 
Yuma,  or  the  highest  God,  and  therefore  called  Yumon  Bairan,  and 
also  Shurem.  After  the  animals  have  been  slaughtered,  and  various 


362  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

ceremonies  performed  by  the  priests,  the  people  all  fall  upon  their 
knees,  touch  the  ground  several  times  with  their  foreheads,  and  repeat 
aloud  a  prayer  containing  eighteen  requests,  as  follows  :— 

'  I.  To  him  who  has  sacrificed  to  God,  may  God  grant  health  and 
happiness. 

'  2.  To  the  children  who  have  been  born  into  the  world  may  He 
give  abundance  of  money,  bread,  bees,  and  cattle. 

'  3.  May  He  cause  the  bees  to  swarm  at  the  new  year,  and  provide 
honey  in  abundance  ! 

'  4.   May  He  bless  our  pursuit  of  birds  and  game  ! 

'  5.   May  He  give  us  abundance  of  gold  and  silver  ! 

'  6.   Let  us,  O  Lord,  receive  threefold  the  value  for  our  goods  ! 

'  7.  Grant  us  possession  of  all  the  treasures  which  are  in  the  earth, 
and  in  the  whole  world  ! 

'  8.   Enable  us  to  pay  the  imperial  taxes  ! 

'  9.  When  spring  comes,  let  the  three  kinds  of  cattle  out  in  the 
three  ways,  and  protect  them  from  deep  mud,  from  bears,  wolves,  and 
thieves  ! 

'  10.   Let  our  barren  cows  bear  calves  ! 

'II.   Let  the  lean  cows  grow  fat  by  bearing  calves  ! 

'  12.  Let  us  sell  the  barren  cows  with  one  hand,  and  wirh  the  other 
take  hold  of  the  money  ! 

'  13.   Send  us,  O  God,  a  true-hearted  friend  ! 

'  14.  When  we  travel  to  a  distance,  protect  us  from  wicked  men, 
bad  diseases,  stupid  people,  unjust  judges,  and  slanderous  tongues  ! 

'15.  As  the  hop  is  elastic  and  full,  so  bless  us  with  happiness  and 
understanding  ! 

'  1 6.   As  the  light  becomes  clear,  so  let  us  live,  and  grant  us  health! 

'17.  As  the  wax  settles  down  to  a  uniform  level,  so  grant  us  the 
happiness  to  live  constantly  ! 

'  1 8.   Grant  that  he  who  asks  may  receive  ! 

'  After  this  prayer  the  priest  puts  the  head,  heart,  and  liver  of  his 
beast  into  a  bowl,  and  offers  it  as  a  sacrifice  to  his  divinity  with  a 
prayer  before  the  fire  ;  then  they  eat,  and  again  begin  to  pray ;  then 
they  go  on  for  three  days  and  nights  without  sleep.  Then  they 
throw  what  they  have  not  consumed,  together  with  the  bones  and 
entrails  of  the  beast,  into  the  fire,  which  is  kept  continually  burning.' — 
Haxthausen^  '  The  Russian  Empire. ' 

Cheboksary  is  the  Tcheremiss  capital,  a  dirty,  but  rather 
a  picturesque  place.     The  most  important  rebellion  ever 


KAZAN.  363 

made  by  the  usually  patient  serfs  took  place  in  the  towns 
and  villages  of  the  Volga  in  the  time  of  Nicholas  I.  In 
many  cases  the  peasants  seized  their  masters  and  mas- 
sacred them  with  their  families.  Some  they  roasted  alive 
on  spits,  others  they  boiled  in  a  cauldron,  others  they  dis- 
embowelled ! 

*  Le  supplice  de  Thelenef  commenca.  Quel  supplice,  bon  Dieu  ! 
Pour  rendre  la  mort  plus  affreuse  a  ce  malheureux,  on  pla$a  d'abord 
devant  ses  yeux  sa  fille,  assise  et  liee  a  pen  de  distance  de  lui  sur  une 
grossiere  estrade  que  1'on  venait  de  construire  a  la  hate  .  .  .  puis  .  .  . 
puis  on  lui  coupa,  a  plusieurs  reprises,  les  pieds  et  les  mains,  1'un  apres 
1'autre,  et  quand  ce  tronc  mutile  fut  presque  epuise  de  sang,  on  le 
laissa  mourir  en  souffletant  la  tete  de  ses  propres  mains,  et  en  etouffant 
les  hurlements  de  sa  bouche  avec  un  de  ses  pieds.' — M.  de  Custine. 

Kazan  (Commonen's  Hotel),  founded  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  was  the  capital  of  the  Tartar  kingdom  of  Kazan, 
\vhose  inhabitants  were  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  the 
Russian  Grand  Princes.  It  was  Ivan  the  Terrible  who 
annexed  the  three  Khanates  of  the  Lower  Volga — Kazan, 
Kiptchak,  and  Astrakhan.  His  capture  of  Kazan  in  1552 
is  to  Russian  \vhat  the  conquest  of  Granada  is  to  Spanish 
history.  The  town  has  a  Kremlin  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
which  contains  the  Cathedral  of  the  Annunciation,  of  1562. 
The  Bogoroditsky  Convent^  near  this,  contains  a  much  vene- 
rated miraculous  icon  of  'Our  Lady  of  Kazan.'  Wallace  * 
records  as  an  instance  of  the  strange  blending  of  the 
modern  with  the  ancient  religion,  that  on  one  occasion, 
in  consequence  of  serious  illness,  a  Tcheremiss  peasant 
sacrificed  a  young  foal  to  our  Lady  of  Kazan.  The  town 

1  Russia,  i.  237. 


364  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

is  three  miles  distant  from  the  river,   but  its  towers   and 
minarets  are  visible  from  the  water. 

The  Tartar  population  of  Kazan,  forcibly  converted,  still 
retains  many  of  its  ancient  customs,  and  even  much  of  its 
old  religion. 

'  Soon  after  the  conquest  of  the  Khanate  of  Kazan  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  Tsars  of  Muscovy  attempted  to  convert  the  new  subjects 
from  Mahommedanism  to  Christianity.  The  means  employed  .were 
partly  spiritual  and  partly  administrative  ;  but  the  police  officers  seem 
to  have  played  a  more  important  part  than  the  clergy.  In  this  way  a 
certain  number  of  Tartars  were  baptised  ;  but  the  authorities  were 
obliged  to  admit  that  the  new  converts  "  shamelessly  retain  many 
horrid  Tartar  customs,  and  neither  know  nor  hold  the  Christian  faith." 
When  spiritual  exhortations  failed,  the  Government  ordered  its  officials 
to  "  terrify,  imprison,  put  in  irons,  and  thereby  unteach  and  frighten 
from  the  Tartar  faith  those  who,  though  baptised,  do  not  obey  the 
admonitions  of  the  metropolitan."  These  energetic  measures  proved 
as  ineffectual  as  the  spiritual  exhortations  ;  and  Catherine  II.  adopted 
a  new  method,  highly  characteristic  of  her  system  of  administration. 
The  new  converts — who,  be  it  remembered,  were  unable  to  read  or 
write — were  ordered  by  Imperial  ukase  to  sign  a  written  promise  to  the 
effect  that  "  they  would  completely  forsake  their  infidel  errors,  and, 
avoiding  all  intercourse  with  unbelievers,  would  hold  firmly  and  un- 
waveringly the  Christian  faith  and  its  dogmas"-  -of  which  latter,  we 
may  add,  they  had  not  the  slightest  knowledge.  The  childlike  faith  in 
the  magical  efficacy  of  stamped  paper  here  displayed  was  not  justified. 
The  so-called  "baptised  Tartars"  are  at  the  present  time  as  far  from 
being  Christian  as  they  were  in  the  sixteenth  century.  They  cannot 
openly  profess  Mahommedanism,  because  men  who  have  been  once 
formally  admitted  into  the  National  Church  cannot  leave  it  without 
exposing  themselves  to  the  severe  pains  and  penalties  of  the  criminal 
code,  but  they  strongly  object  to  be  Christianised.' — Wallace's  '•RtissiaS 

From  time  to  time  Kazan  and  the  whole  district  of  the 
Volga  have  been  overrun  with  swarms  of  beetles  (tarakani) 
from  China.  In  1817,  a  more  terrible  enemy  appeared 
in  enormous  swarms  of  rats — yellow,  with  a  black  stripe 


SARAL  365 

down  the  back — which  destroyed  all  the  native  rats  and 
mice.1 

Some  few  travellers  will  continue  the  voyage  of  the 
Volga  below  Kazan  to  Simbirsk  •  Samara,  a  great  modern 
town,  with  a  huge  modern  church  ;  and  Saratof,  a  hand- 
some city  in  rather  a  pretty  situation.  (Hence  a  railway 
leads  to  Moscow  through  Tambof,  one  of  the  towns  which 
has  suffered  most  from  Tartar  incursions.) 

The  melancholy  songs  of  the  Bourlaki  vary,  but  do  not 
enliven,  the  descent  of  the  Volga.  When  the  Bourlak 
sings— 

*  He  sits,  his  head  resting  on  his  hands  ;  he  has  a  pensive  aspect  ; 
his  eyes  express  animation,  his  features  suffering.  When  you  listen  to 
him  you  always  wish  to  catch  what  he  is  saying  ;  but  you  cannot 
distinguish  the  words,  it  is  only  a  plaintive  wail  which  reaches  you.' — • 
Reschetnikof. 

No  trace  exists  now  of  the  great  Tartar  city  of  Sarai', 
which  once  occupied  the  site  of  Saratof,  being  founded  by 
the  grandson  of  that  Genghis  Khan  who  set  out  from  the 
north  of  China  with  the  idea  of  conquering  the  whole  world, 
and  who  did  conquer  the  country  which  extends  from  the 
Carpathians  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia,  and  from  the 
Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Himalayas,  founding  the  great  Mongol 
Empire,  which  only  lasted  fifty  years.  In  the  fifteenth 
century  Sarai  was  flourishing  and  populous.  Here  lived  the 
Khans  who  kept  Russia  in  subjection  for  twro  hundred 
years.  Whilst  they  exacted  tribute,  however,  they  never 
attempted  to  Tartarise  their  Russian  subjects,  who  were 
then  divided  into  a  number  of  independent  principalities,  all 

1  See  Haxthausen. 


366  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

governed  by  descendants  of  Ruric.  Indeed,  they  were  so 
tolerant  that,  in  1261,  a  Khan  founded  a  bishopric  in  his 
capital,  and,  several  of  his  family  embracing  Christianity, 
one  of  them  founded  a  monastery,  and  even  became  a  saint 
of  the  Russian  Church.  Meantime  the  Russian  princes, 
collecting  as  well  as  paying  the  tributes,  became,  as  it  were, 
the  lieutenants  of  the  Khans,  and  Princes  of  Moscow,  by- 
forcing  the  smaller  princes  to  pay  their  tribute  through 
them,  increased  their  own  influence  with  the  Tartar  tyrants. 
But  at  length  Russia,  which  had  no  part  in  the  crusades  of 
mediaeval  Europe,  carried  on  its  own  crusade  against  the 
Tartars,  and  in  the  end  with  glorious  success  ;  and,  as  the 
Tartar  Golden  Horde  fell  to  pieces,  Moscow,  which  had 
long  taken  the  first  rank  in  Russia,  put  itself  at  the  head 
of  the  movement  which  eventually  ensured  the  freedom  of 
the  whole  country). 

The  railway  from  Nijni  Novogorod  to  Moscow  passes  the 
famous  town  of  Vladimir.  This  city  was  founded  in  the  end 
of  the  twelfth  century  by  Andrew  Bobolioubski  of  Soudalia, 
who  affirmed  that  he  was  obliged  to  make  his  capital  here, 
rather  than  in  the  ancient  cities  of  Sousdal  or  RostofT,  in 
answer  to  his  famous  icon,  brought  from  Constantinople  (the 
same  which  now  hangs  in  the  Assumption  Cathedral  at 
Moscow),  which  refused  to  reside  anywhere  but  in  Vladimir. 
Andrew  made  of  Vladimir  a  new  Kieff,  as  Kieff  itself  had 
been  a  new  Constantinople.  Here,  as  at  Kieff,  was  erected 
(1158)  a  Golden  Gate,  which  still  exists,  and,  as  at  Kieff,  a 
church,  called  the  Church  of  the  Tithes,  was  dedicated  to 
the  Virgin,  and  numbers  of  monasteries  were  built.  Andrew 
Bobolioubski,  at  Vladimir,  was  the  first  despotic  ruler  in 
Russia.  He  broke  through  the  traditional  bond  which  had 


VLADIMIR.  367 

united  the  ancient  princes  to  their  droujina  or  band  ot 
comrades,  making  his  boyars  subjects  instead  of  com- 
panions.1 He  tried  to  deprive  Kieff  of  its  spiritual  as  well 
as  its  temporal  supremacy,  by  persuading  the  metropolitan 
to  move  to  Vladimir  ;  but  this  was  refused  at  the  time,  and 
was  left  for  the  Grand  Princes  of  Moscow  to  carry  out. 

For  a  short  time,  between  the  supremacy  of  Kieff  and 
that  of  Moscow,  Vladimir  wras  the  capital  of  Russia  ;  and, 
long  after  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Moscow 
(1328),  its  princes  came  hither  for  their  coronations.  The 
splendid  coronation  cathedral  of  Moscow  is  only,  as  far  as 
could  be,  a  copy  of  the  ancient  Cathedral  of  the  Assumption 
(Uspenski  Sobor)  of  Vladimir.  The  glorious  church  which 
still  exists  dates  only  from  the  thirteenth  century,  but  con- 
tains many  precious  monuments  and  shrines  saved  from  the 
destruction  of  an  earlier  cathedral.  These  include  the  shrine 
of  the  Grand  Prince  Andrew,  murdered  in  1174 — a  '  second 
Solomon '  who  had  given  a  tenth  of  his  revenues  to  the 
church,  and  enriched  it  with  golden  gates,  silver  balustrade, 
and  costly  icons,  especially  with  the  famous  icon  of  'the 
Virgin  of  Sousdal,'  bearing  which,  in  1164,  he  had  gained  a 
celebrated  victory  over  the  Bulgarians.  Amongst  the  tombs 
are  those  of  Vassa,  the  second  wife,  and  Eudoxia,  the 
daughter,  of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi ;  and  the  hero  saint  him- 
self reposed  here  till  his  remains  were  moved  to  S.  Petersburg 
by  Peter  the  Great.  The  earlier  church  on  this  site,  founded 
by  Prince  Andrew  Bobolioubski,  was  twice  destroyed  by  fire, 
the  second  time  during  the  terrible  Tartar  invasion  of  1238, 
under  Baty  Khan,  when  the  Prince  of  Vladimir,  George  II., 

1  Rambaud. 


368  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

had   gone  to  seek  succour  in   the  north,  leaving  his   two 
sons  to  defend  the  town. 

'  The  princes  and  boyars  saw  that  their  ruin  was  inevitable.  There 
was  still  time  to  beg  for  peace  ;  but  being  only  too  certain  that  they 
would  have  to  become  slaves  and  tributaries  to  Baty,  and  valuing 
honour  more  than  life,  they  resolved  to  die  the  death  of  heroes.  It 
was  a  most  touching  spectacle  when  Vsevolod,  his  wife,  the  nobles, 
and  a  great  number  of  illustrious  citizens  met  in  the  Church  of  Our 
Lady,  where  they  implored  the  Bishop  Metrophanes  to  give  them  the 
monastic  tonsure.  This  solemnity  was  carried  out  in  profound  silence. 
The  Russians  took  leave  at  once  of  the  world  and  of  life  ;  but,  on  the 
point  of  quitting  it,  they  besought  heaven  to  preserve  the  existence,  the 
glory,  and  the  cherished  name  of  Russia.  On  the  7th  of  February,  the 
Sunday  of  the  Carnival,  after  matins,  the  assault  begins  :  the  Tartars 
seize  the  new  town,  whilst  Vsevolod  and  Rostislaf,  with  their  guard, 
retire  into  the  old  town.  Meanwhile  Agatha,  wife  of  the  Grand  Prince 
George  (and  mother  of  Vsevolod),  her  daughter,  her  brothers,  her 
daughters-in-law,  her  granddaughter,  and  a  crowd  of  boyars  and 
citizens,  shut  themselves  up  in  the  cathedral.  The  Mongols  set  fire  to 
it,  whilst  the  bishop  cries  aloud,  "  Lord,  extend  thy  invisible  arms, 
and  receive  thy  servants  in  peace  !  "  then  gives  his  blessing  to  all  who 
are  present,  giving  themselves  up  to  death.  Some  are  suffocated  by 
the  torrents  of  smoke,  others  are  devoured  by  the  flames  or  fall  by  the 
swords  of  the  enemy.  For  the  Tartars  succeed  in  forcing  the  doors  of 
the  church,  into  which  they  rush,  led  on  by  their  longing  to  seize  the 
rich  treasures  which  they  know  to  be  concealed  there.  The  silver, 
gold,  precious  stones,  all  the  ornaments  of  the  icons,  and  the  books, 
fall  a  prey  to  them,  as  well  as  the  robes  of  the  ancient  princes  of 
Vladimir  preserved  in  this  church.  The  cruel  warriors  of  Baty, 
surfeited  with  carnage,  made  very  few  prisoners,  and  even  this  small 
number,  brought  naked  into  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  perished  there  of 
cold.  The  princes  Vsevolod  and  Rostislaf,  having  lost  all  hope  of 
repulsing  the  enemy,  attempted  to  force  a  way  through  their  numerous 
battalions,  and  both  perished.' — Karamsin^  iii. 

Within  the  Kremlin  of  Vladimir  is  the  Cathedral  of 
S.  Demetrius,  which  dates  from  1194,  and  is  very  curious 
and  interesting. 


369 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  NEW  JERUSALEM. 

ALONG  and  interesting  excursion  from  Moscow  should 
be  made  to  the  great  Monastery  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
The  S.  Petersburg  railway  must  be  retraced  for  about  an 
hour  as  far  as  the  station  of  Kriukova,  whence  it  is  about 
fourteen  miles  to  the  monastery.  Quantities  of  the  native 
carriage  called  tarantass  l  are  waiting  at  the  station,  and 
must  be  bargained  for.  The  better  sort  of  tarantass  is  a 
kind  of  springless  phaeton,  with  three  horses  abundantly 
hung  with  bells  to  frighten  wolves,  the  largest  suspended 
from  the  centre  of  the  high-raised  collar.  The  commoner 
kind  of  tarantass  is  little  more  than  a  hooded  wooden  box 
with  hay  spread  over  the  bottom.  You  make  your  bargain, 
ten  times  the  very  small  sum  taken  at  last  being  asked  at 
the  beginning,  your  graceful  yemstchik,  or  driver,  springs 
upon  the  box,  crosses  himself,  as  he  always  does  before 
every  journey,  and  you  are  off,  whilst  he  utters  such  cries  to 

1  There  is  a  well-known  romance  called  The  Tarantass,  by  Count  Sollohoub, 
consisting  of  conversations  in  a  carriage  of  this  kind  between  the  old  Vassili,  a  coun- 
tryman of  the  old  Russian  school,  who  had  grown  up  '  as  the  cabbages  and  peas  grow,' 
and  Ivan,  a  smart  young  man  with  a  Parisian  education— a  dialogue  greatly  to 
the  advantage  of  the  former. 

B  B 


370  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

his  horses  as,  '  Little  father,  have  a  care  of  your  character, 
and  you  shall  have  some  fresh  grass  when  we  get  to  the  New 
Jerusalem  ; '  '  Dear  little  mother,  do  not  let  me  stick  in  the 
mud,  and  your  supper  shall  be  perfectly  delicious  ; '  '  He  ! 
he  !  now  shake  yourselves,  you  little  popes  ; '  '  Now  all  three 
together,  you  little  barbarians  ; '  and  so  throughout  all  the 
way  he  chatters  to  the  animals,  and  they  always  under- 
stand him  perfectly,  and  he  often,  as  in  our  case,  has  no 
whip.  If  a  horse  is  incorrigible,  his  driver  calls  him  a  Jew, 
the  lowest  term  of  opprobrium.  The  use  of  diminutives  is 
universal.  '  Little  father,  give  me  a  little  light  for  my  little 
pipe,'  your  charioteer  will  say  as  he  turns  round  to  you. 
Gogol  describes  the  driver  of  a  Russian  tarantass. 

'  Tchitchikoff,  lost  in  his  own  thoughts,  did  not  perceive  that  his 
driver  was  addressing  very  judicious  observations  to  the  extra  horse 
harnessed  on  the  right.  This  gelding  was  very  crafty  ;  it  made  a  pre- 
tence of  drawing,  but  in  reality  it  was  the  bay  horse,  and  the  sorrel 
called  "the  Assessor"  (because  it  had  been  bought  from  an  assessor), 
which  worked  so  conscientiously  that  self-satisfaction  might  be  seen  in 
their  eyes.  "  Be  as  cunning  as  you  choose,  I  can  be  more  crafty  than 
you,"  said  Seliphane,  leaning  forward  to  whip  the  idler.  "  Learn 
what  you  have  to  do,  you  German  fool  !  The  bay  is  a  respectable 
horse  ;  he  fulfils  his  duty  ;  I  shall  be  delighted  to  give  him  an  extra 
measure  of  corn  ;  to  the  '  Assessor '  likewise  !  .  .  .  Well  then,  well 
then  !  why  are  you  shaking  your  ears,  you  idiot  ?  Attend  when  you  are 
spoken  to  !  I  am  not  teaching  you  anything  bad,  you  ill-conditioned 
one  !  Eh,  barbarian  !  where  are  you  going  ?  "  And  here  another  cut 
of  the  whip.' 

Soon  we  pass  through  a  large  village,  a  typical  wooden 
Russian  village,  where  the  edge  of  the  gables  is  fringed  with 
lace,  like  the  napkins  inside,  and  where  there  are  richly- 
wrought  open  shutters  like  those  in  the  streets  of  Cairo. 
Wonderful  carpenters  are  these  Russian  peasants  ! 


VILLAGE   CHARACTERISTICS.  371 

'  We  saw  a  young  man  cut  out  with  his  axe,  merely  measuring  it  by 
his  eye,  a  hexagonal  hole  six  inches  in  width  and  depth.  When  he  had 
finished,  we  examined  it,  and  found  all  the  sides  exactly  equal,  and  the 
angles  correct ;  it  was  a  perfectly  regular  mathematical  figure,  which 
none  of  us  could  have  drawn  without  rule  and  compass. ' — Haxthansen. 

All  the  buildings  become  grey,  almost  black,  from  the 
weather,  and  this,  with  the  absence  of  foliage  in  the  Russian 
villages,  produces  a  melancholy  expression.  The  single  fir- 
tree  which  is  left  here  in  the  village  startles  us,  and  we  feel 
inclined  to  stay  and  sketch  it,  so  unusual  is  its  aspect,  for  in 
scarcely  any  Russian  village  is  there  a  tree  of  sufficient  size 
to  give  shade.  Russians  have  made  firewood,  when  it  was 
near  their  hand,  even  of  their  fruit-trees  planted  by  the 
Turks,  and  of  the  mulberry  trees  planted  by  the  Mongols 
on  the  Volga.1  Close  to  many  of  the  houses  here  are  high 
poles,  at  the  top  of  which  a  basket  is  slung  for  starlings 
(skavortzi)  to  build  their  nests  in,  owing  to  an  old  popular 
belief.  In  these  villages,  the  better  class  of  peasants  will 
often  let  their  best  room  to  a  clerk  employed  in  the  place, 
receiving  no  money  as  rent,  but  the  tenant  being  obliged 
to  provide  some  necessary,  such  as  firewood,  for  the  whole 
house  throughout  the  year  :  all  Russians  are  fond  of  paying 
and  receiving  in  kind.  A  fourth  of  every  principal  living 
room  is  usually  taken  up  by  the  stove,  on  the  top  of 
which  many  of  the  peasants  sleep,  wrapped  up  in  their 
sheepskins,  equally  impervious  to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 
In  winter  all  the  men  wear  sheepskin  coats,  with  the  wool 
turned  inwards.  Before  October  is  far  advanced,  all  is 
buried  in  snow. 

The  houses  of  the  priests   or  deacons  in  the  country 

1   Haxthausen. 

B  B  2 


372  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

villages  are  little  superior  to  those  around  them.     Here  is 
Madame  Romanoff's  description  of  one  of  them  :— 

*  The  deacon  lived  in  a  wooden  house  of  his  own,  with  a  palisaded 
garden  in  front,  if  that  may  be  called  a  garden  which  was  but  a  narrow 
slip  of  ground,  so  thickly  planted  with  lilacs  and  raspberry  and  black- 
currant bushes,  that  at  the  time  the  fruit  was  ripe  there  was  scarcely 
any  possibility  of  getting  at  it.  The  dwelling  consisted  of  a  large  lofty 
kitchen,  a  bedroom,  and  a  parlour— all  on  the  ground -floor.  The 
walls  were  not  lath  and  plastered,  there  were  no  carpets  on  the  floors 
nor  curtains  at  the  windows.  The  furniture  consisted  of  a  birchwood 
sofa  and  a  dozen  chairs,  covered  with  a  large-patterned  cotton  print, 
a  table  before  the  sofa,  and  two  smaller  ones  beneath  the  looking- 
glasses  in  the  piers.  Besides  this  ordinary  furniture  there  was  a 
psaltery,  on  which  the  deacon  used  to  perform  various  sacred  melodies 
on  holiday  evenings.  The  corner  formed  by  the  two-windowed  walls 
was  hung  with  pictures  of  the  Saviour,  His  Mother,  the  patron-saints 
of  the  master  and  mistress  of  the  house,  and  of  the  master's  deceased 
parents  ;  some  with  silver  or  metallic  settings,  others  in  the  rough 
and  extra  pre-Raphaelistic  style  called  "  Souzdalsky,"  from  the  town 
where  they  are  painted  by  thousands.  The  other  walls  were  covered 
with  portraits  of  the  imperial  family,  and  a  few  sentimental  engravings 
from  English  annuals,  with  English  titles  that  nobody  in  the  village 
could  read,  and  no  one  knew  where  they  were  originally  picked  up. 
They  were  the  parting  gift  of  one  of  the  many  stanovoys  that  had  ruled 
in  the  village. 

'  The  bedroom  contained  only  one  bed  properly  so  called  ;  the 
bedding  of  the  children  (who  slept  on  large  pieces  of  thick  felt  spread 
at  night  on  the  parlour  floor,  with  pillows  in  cotton-print  cases,  and 
patchwork-quilted  counterpanes)  was  stowed  away  under  the  bedstead 
during  the  day.  The  kitchen  was  like  all  Russian  peasant  houses. 
The  whole  house  was  scrupulously  clean  and  neat ;  a  faint  smell, 
reminding  one  of  incense,  wax,  and  church  oil,  pervaded  the  place, 
and  proceeded  from  the  clothing,  long  hair,  and  person  in  general  of 
the  deacon,  a  quiet,  sober,  thrifty  man.' — Rites  and  Customs  of  the 
Greco- Rtissian  Church. 

The  person  of  next  importance  in  the  village  is  the 
Peldsher,  or  doctor — an  .  old  soldier  who  dresses  wounds 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  373 

and  gives  physic  ;  many,  however,  prefer  consulting  a 
Znakharka — an  old  woman  who  is  half  doctor  and  half 
witch. 

But  we  have  left  the  village  far  behind,  and  are  jolting 
over  the  open  plain,  and  soon,  across  the  rough  track,  in 
the  aerial  horizon,  we  shall  see  the  light  gleaming  upon 
purple  towers  and  golden  domes,  which — at  least  far  away — 
will  recall*  another  New  Jerusalem,  more  universally  looked 
for  ;  therefore,  while  we  have  still  time,  let  us  consider  the 
strange  story  which  has  brought  us  here. 

'  In  naming  Nikon  we  feel  at  once  the  immense  disadvantage  of 
Eastern  as  compared  with  Western  history.  How  few  of  us  have  even 
heard  of  him  ;  how  impenetrable  even  to  those  who  have  heard  of  him 
is  the  darkness  of  the  original  language  in  which  his  biography  is 
wrapped  up  !  Yet  he  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  character  in  the 
annals  of  the  Russian  hierarchy  ;  and  even  in  the  annals  of  the 
Eastern  hierarchy  generally,  there  are  but  few  who  can  be  named 
before  him  as  ecclesiastical  statesmen.  Photius  in  the  ninth  century, 
and  Chrysostom  in  the  fourth,  in  some  respects  remind  us  of  the  career 
of  Nikon.  Indeed  the  similarity  may  be  fairly  taken  as  a  proof  of  the 
identity  of  spirit  which  breathed,  at  the  interval  of  six  centuries, 
through  the  two  main  branches  of  the  Eastern  Church.  He  was  a 
Russian  Chrysostom.  He  was  also,  in  coarse  and  homely  proportions, 
a  Russian  Luther  and  a  Russian  Wolsey.  ...  In  the  series  of  por- 
traits professing  to  represent  the  hierarchy  of  ancient  Russia,  his  is  the 
first  that  imprints  itself  on  our  minds  with  the  stamp  of  individual 
originality.  In  the  various  monasteries  over  which  he  presided,  his 
grave  countenance  looks  down  upon  us  with  bloodshot  eyes,  red  com- 
plexion, and  brows  deeply  knit.  The  vast  length  of  his  pontifical  robes, 
preserved  as  relics  of  his  magnificence,  reveals  to  us  the  commanding 
stature,  no  less  than  seven  feet,  which  he  shares  with  so  many  of  his 
more  distinguished  countrymen.  And  his  story,  if  it  could  be  told 
with  the  details— many  of  which  lie  buried  in  the  Russian  archives, 
but  some  of  which  have  been  published  and  translated  in  well-known 
works  — is  as  full  of  dramatic  complexity  and  pathetic  interest  as  was 
ever  conceived  in  "Timon  of  Athens"  or  "King  Lear."' — Stanley, 
*  The  Eastern  Church,'' 


374  ?  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Nikon  (Nikita),  who  lived  to  be  the  Russian  Luther,  or 
rather  the  Russian  John  Knox,  was  born  in  1613,  of  very 
humble  parents,  in  a  village  in  the  district  of  Nijgorod.  As 
a  boy  he  ran  away  from  home  to  become  a  monk  in  the 
Jeltovodsky  convent  of  S.  Macarius.  His  father's  entreaties 
prevailed  upon  him  to  return,  to  marry,  and  to  be  ordained 
a  priest,  and  as  such  he  worked  for  ten  years  in  a  small 
village.  Then,  after  ten  years  of  married  life,  all  his 
children  having  died,  he  persuaded  his  wife  to  enter  a  con- 
vent, and  himself  embraced  the  severest  of  lives  as  the 
monk  Nikon,  at  the  ice-girt  convent  of  Solovetsky,  in  the 
North  Sea.  Even  this  seclusion  was  not  enough  for  him, 
and  he  soon  went  to  share  the  hermitage  of  the  aged 
anchorite  Eleazar,  in  the  solitary  island  of  Anzer.  There  he 
spent  many  years  in  prayer,  fasting,  and  'mortifying  his  flesh 
with  continual  discipline.'  Twice,  however,  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  his  retreat  :  once  to  persuade  his  wife  to  take  the 
final  vows,  and  again  to  collect  alms  for  the  convent. 
These  alms,  which  the  community  delayed  in  expending  on 
the  glory  of  God,  became  a  source  of  quarrel,  from  which 
Nikon  made  his  escape  in  a  small  open  boat,  landing  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Onega,  whence  he  went  to  the  monastery  of 
Kojeozersk,  making  his  dwelling  in  a  hermitage  on  a  neigh- 
bouring island.  When  the  superior  of  the  monastery  died, 
he  was  with  difficulty  persuaded  to  accept  the  office  of  its 
hegumen.  Three  years  later  (1649),  after  his  austerities 
had  already  gained  him  the  reputation  of  sanctity,  Nikon  was 
compelled  by  the  necessities  of  his  church  to  visit  Moscow, 
and  there  he  was  seen  by  the  young  Tsar.  Alexis,  who, 
captivated  by  his  appearance  and  eloquence,  and  impressed 
with  the  report  of  his  holy  life,  could  not  endure  to  part 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  375 

with  him,  and,  that  he  might  secure  his  society,  gave  him 
the  government  of  the  Novospasky  monastery,  the  burial- 
place  of  his  ancestors. 


'  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  worldly  greatness  of  Nikon  ;  but  by 
no  means  the  termination  of  his  monastic  austerities,  for  in  them  he 
continued  steadfast  even  to  his  last  hour.  Here  also  was  the  beginning 
of  those  strong  temptations  of  spirit,  under  the  weight  of  which  he  at  last 
gave  way,  and  from  being  exalted  was  led  to  exalt  himself.  The  extra- 
ordinary favour  of  the  Tsar  distinguished  the  new  archimandrite  before 
all  others.  In  the  charms  of  his  conversation  Alexis  Michailovitch  found 
consolation  to  his  soul,  and  from  that  time  he  accustomed  himself  to  be 
guided  by  his  sage  counsels  ;  he  found  in  him  a  zeal  for  the  Church  not 
inferior  to  his  own,  and  the  loftiest  view,  not  only  of  ecclesiastical  but 
also  of  political  matters,  which  in  Nikon  proceeded  solely  from  the 
originality  of  his  mind  and  from  his  bold  openness  of  character. 
During  the  course  of  three  years  the  archimandrite  came  every  Friday 
to  the  chapel  in  the  palace  for  the  purpose  of  conversing  with  the  Tsar 
after  Divine  service.  On  his  way  he  received  petitions  from  the  people, 
and  the  Tsar,  as  he  left  the  chapel,  signified  his  pleasure  upon  them, 
usually  in  favour  of  the  petitioners.  In  like  manner  Nikon  already 
began  to  enter  partially  into  the  direction  of  civil  affairs.' — Mouravieff. 


By  the  desire  of  the  Tsar,  Nikon  was  consecrated  arch- 
bishop of  Novogorod  the  Great  by  Paisius,  patriarch  of 
Jerusalem,  who  happened  to  be  at  Moscow.  But  Alexis 
could  no  longer  exist  without  him,  and  every  winter  persuaded 
him  to  come  to  Moscow  ;  he  also  gave  him  unusual  powers, 
both  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  in  his  diocese.  This  confidence 
Nikon  fully  justified  by  the  self-devotion,  firmness,  and 
courage  he  showed  in  a  terrible  insurrection  at  Novogorod, 
where  (1649)  ne  defended  the  governor,  Prince  Feodor 
Kilkoff,  against  the  insurgents.  He  was  dragged  through 
the  streets,  and  stoned  till  he  was  insensible,  but  he  refused 
to  give  in,  and,  proceeding  to  the  town-hall,  made  so  pathetic 


376  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

an  address  to  the  rebels  that  they  submitted. l  Afterwards, 
being  armed  with  full  powers  by  the  Tsar,  he  punished  the 
insurgent  ringleaders,  but  with  the  utmost  humanity. 

Meanwhile,  both  at  Novogorod  and  Moscow,  Nikon 
showed  munificence  beyond  words  in  the  building  of  alms- 
houses  and  orphanages.  He  visited  prisons,  setting  innocent 
^prisoners  free  on  his  own  responsibility  ;  he  allowed  women 
in  the  churches  ;  he  was  '  no  lover  of  images,'  and  caused 
pictures  to  which  idolatrous  veneration  was  paid  to  be 
taken  away.  He  put  out  the  eyes  of  all  the  pictures  painted 
after  Frankish  or  Polish  fashion,  and  sent  them  round  the 
city  by  his  janissaries,  publishing  an  imperial  proclamation, 
in  the  absence  of  the  Tsar,  that  whosoever  should  be  found 
painting  after  such  models  should  be  severely  punished. 

In  the  churches,  Nikon  taught  constantly  himself,  and 
the  people  thronged  from  great  distances  to  hear  him 
preach. 

'  He  substituted  living  addresses  of  his  own  for  the  reading  of  the 
select  instructions  appointed  for  each  day  ;  he  also  turned  his  attention 
to  the  church  plate,  furniture,  and  vestments,  in  which  he  loved  cleanliness 
and  magnificence,  that  they  might  become  their  high  uses.  He  regulated 
also  the  order  of  Divine  service  itself,  for,  through  an  evil  habit  which 
had  crept  in,  those  who  ministered,  for  the  sake  of  expedition,  read  at 
once  in  both  the  choirs,  two  or  three  voices  together.  The  Kathism 
and  canons  for  vigil,  and  even  at  the  Liturgy  the  Litanies  and  Exclama- 
tions, were  run  together  with  the  singing  of  the  choir.  The  metropo- 
litan strictly  forbade  such  irregularity  in  his  diocese.' — Mouravieff. 

These,  and  the  introduction  of  softer  chants  from  Greece, 
were  the  small  beginnings  of  the  famous  reform  of  Nikon. 

1  He  spoke  to  them  almost  in  the  words  of  our  Saviour  :  'Are  ye  come  out  against 
me  with  swords?  I  have  been  daily  with  you,  and  ye  did  not  touch  me,  why  are  ye 
thus  come?  Do  you  not  see  how  I  stand  up  before  you  and  do  not  bend  to  you? 
As  I  am  a  shepherd,  it  becomes  me  to  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep.' 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  377 

The  patriarch  Joseph  was  aghast  at  them,  and  when  Nikon 
persuaded  the  Tsar  to  begin  the  correction  of  the  church 
books,  and  to  send  Arsenius,  the  bursar  of  the  Trinity 
monastery,  to  the  Holy  Places  of  the  East,  to  see  how  the 
four  Oecumenical  thrones  followed  the  rule  of  the  Church, 
and  he  returned  full  of  changes  to  be  made,  all  the  old- 
fashioned  priests  began  to  murmur  openly  against  Nikon  as 
an  innovator.  Yet,  during  his  absence  on  a  mission  to  his 
old  monastery  of  Solovetsky,  to  bring  back  thence  the  relics 
of  the  murdered  S.  Philip,  the  patriarch  Joseph  died,  and, 
after  long  refusing  the  office,  Nikon  was  persuaded,  much 
against  his  will,  by  the  most  urgent  and  tearful  entreaties  of 
the  Tsar  and  people,  to  accept  the  patriarchate.1  For  six 
years  he  ruled  both  Church  and  State  in  this  office,  and 
(taking  advantage  of  the  panic  which  arose  when,  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  believed  that  the 
number  of  the  Beast  applied  to  1666),  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  reformation  of  the  Russian  ecclesiastics,  especially, 
whilst  respecting  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  turning  his 
attention  to  repressing  the  intemperance  of  the  clergy.  At 
this  time  the  Archdeacon  Paul,  who  accompanied  Ma- 
carius,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  to  Russia,  describes  the 
patriarch  Nikon  as  a  very  butcher  amongst  the  clergy. 
'  His  janissaries  are  perpetually  going  round  the  city,  and, 
when  they  find  any  priest  or  monk  in  a  state  of  intoxication, 
they  carry  him  to  prison,  strip  him,  and  scourge  him.  The 
prisons  are  full  of  them,  galled  with  heavy  chains  and  logs 
of  wood  on  their  backs  and  legs,  or  they  sift  flour  night  and 
day  in  the  bakehouse.' 2 

During  his  rule  as  patriarch,  Nikon  filled  Siberia  with 

1  See  Plato,  History  of  Russia.  -  Macarius,  ii.  76. 


378  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

dissolute  clergy  and  their  families.1  He  drove  out  the  Euro- 
pean merchants  who  paid  no  deference  to  the  holy  places  of 
Moscow.  He  banished  the  Armenians  because  one  of  their 
merchants  refused  either  to  be  baptised  or  to  part  with  his 
long  white  beard,  though  he  offered  to  pay  fifty  thousand 
dinars  for  retaining  it.  He  ordered  three  deacons,  who  had 
married  again  after  the  death  of  their  first  wives,  to  be  shut 
up  in  a  wooden  cell  at  the  Troitsa,  till  they  died  of  hunger. 
Against  the  metropolitan  of  Mira,  who  had  been  caught  in 
the  unpardonable  sin  of  smoking  tobacco,  he  was  so  enraged 
that  he  tried  to  give  him  up  to  a  cannibal  tribe  of  Kalmucks 
that  they  might  eat  him,  but  the  archbishop  had  contrived 
to  hide  himself. 

'  As  soon  as  the  chiefs  of  the  tribe  entered,  the  whole  assembly  was 
struck  with  horror.  They  bared  their  heads,  and  bowed  to  the  patriarch 
with  great  veneration,  crouching  on  the  ground  all  in  a  lump  like  pigs. 
After  various  questions  as  to  their  mode  of  life,  and  travelling,  and 
warfare,  he  said,  "Is  it  really  true  that  you  eat  the  flesh  of  men?  " 
They  laughed  and  answered,  "  We  eat  our  dead,  and  we  eat  dogs  ;  how 
then  should  we  not  eat  men  ?  "  He  said,  "  How  do  you  eat  men  ?  " 
They  replied,  "  When  we  have  conquered  a  man,  we  cut  away  his 
nose,  and  then  carve  him  in  pieces  and  eat  him."  He  said,  "  I  have 
a  man  here  who  deserves  death  ;  I  will  send  for  him,  and  present  him 
to  you  that  you  may  eat  him."  Hereupon  they  began  earnestly  to  entreat 
him,  saying,  "Good  Lord,  whenever  you  have  any  men  deserving  of 
death,  do  not  trouble  yourself  about  their  guilt  or  their  punishment, 
but  give  them  us  to  eat,  and  you  will  do  us  a  great  kindness." ' 

In  his  energy  for  reform,  Nikon  now  wished  to  call  in  all 
the  old  icons  and  liturgical  books,  but  this  was  vehemently 
resisted  by  the  people.  It  was  in  vain  for  the  patriarch  to 
assure  them  that  he  only  wished  to  return  to  ancient  forms 
still  observed  in  Greece  and  Constantinople;  the  conservative 

1  Macarius,  ii.  78. 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  379 

populace  declared  that  the  forms  accepted  by  their  own  saints 
and  martyrs  must  be  the  right  ones,  and  that  therefore  the 
patriarch  and  his  followers  must  be  wrong.  '  In  every  nation/ 
says  the  Archdeacon  Paul,  '  men  are  to  be  found  of  a  heavy 
nature  and  understanding,  saying  within  themselves,  "  We 
will  not  alter  our  books,  nor  our  rites  and  ceremonies, 
which  we  have  received  from  of  old.'" 

Passionate  energy  was  also  wasted  by  the  patriarch  in 
what  we  should  consider  matters  of  mere  ecclesiastical 
detail.  On  the  question  of  using  three  fingers  instead  of 
two  in  benediction,  on  the  way  of  signing  the  cross,  on  the 
colour  of  altar  cloths,  on  the  right  inflexions  in  pronoun- 
cing the  creed. 

'  Xikon,  seated  on  the  patriarchal  throne,  continued  to  do  for  all 
Russia  what  he  had  before  done  for  the  one  diocese  of  Novogorod. 
He  relieved  the  poor ;  righted  the  oppressed  ;  encouraged  virtue  and 
learning ;  enforced  discipline,  especially  among  the  clergy,  examining 
personally  candidates  for  ordination,  and  summarily  punishing  de- 
linquent clerks ;  he  corrected  abuses  in  the  manner  of  performing 
Divine  service  ;  introduced  a  new  and  improved  mode  of  church  singing  ; 
held  a  council  for  the  correction  and  printing  of  the  church  books  ;  and 
generally  promoted  all  necessary  and  useful  reforms.  At  the  same 
time  he  taught  diligently  himself  the  Word  of  God,  the  style  both  of 
his  preaching  and  of  his  ordinary  discourse  being  remarkable  for  the 
constant  references  he  made  in  them  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  references 
not  superficial  and  conventional,  but  natural  and  practical,  full  of  rich 
instruction  and  holy  seriousness,  and  having  a  peculiar  pointedness  of 
application.  By  these  means  he  attracted  towards  himself  the  deepest 
personal  attachment  of  religious  minds  (and  not  least  that  of  his 
sovereign),  but  also  the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  all  the  more  ignorant, 
superstitious,  and  vicious  among  the  hierarchy  and  the  lower  clergy, 
who  found  in  his  correction  of  church  books  a  powerful  handle  for 
spreading  disaffection  towards  him  among  such  of  the  people  also  as 
were  like  themselves— ignorant,  unspiritual,  and  superstitious.' — W. 
Palmer,  '  Dissertations  on  S^^l>jects  relating  to  the  Orthodox  or  Eastern- 
Catholic  Communion. ' 


380  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

From  the  time  when  Nikon  accepted  the  patriarchate, 
the  Tsar  Alexis  had  become  inseparable  from  him.  They 
appeared  as  one  and  the  same  person  in  all  acts  of  govern- 
ment, passing  all  their  days  together,  in  the  church,  in 
the  council  chamber,  and  at  the  friendly  board.  To  unite 
themselves  still  closer  by  the  bonds  of  spiritual  friendship, 
the  patriarch  became  godfather  to  all  the  children  of  his 
sovereign,  and  they  made  a  mutual  vow  never  to  desert  each 
other  on  this  side  the  grave.  When  Alexis,  on  returning 
from  his  Polish  victories,  heard  of  the  courage  which  Nikon 
had  shown  during  a  plague  which  had  ravaged  Moscow, 
and  of  his  care  of  the  royal  family  left  behind  in  the  capital, 
he  bestowed  on  the  patriarch  the  title  of  'Great  Lord,'  by 
which  his  own  grandfather  Philaret  had  been  styled,  and 
caused  it  to  be  written  in  all  the  acts  of  the  kingdom. 
Master  of  the  most  intricate  politics,  Nikon  now  became 
the  soul  of  the  council  chamber,  until,  unfortunately,  his 
desire  to  recover  the  monasteries  and  churches  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  Ingria  and  Carelia  from  Sweden,  induced  him  to 
urge  the  Tsar  to  a  war  with  that  country  which  turned  out 
very  unfortunately  for  Russia.  The  prestige  of  the  patri- 
arch's sagacity  having  thus  received  its  first  blow,  the  boyars 
of  the  first  class,  who  had  long  been  jealous  of  him,  and 
whom  he  had  alienated  by  the  roughness  and  arbitrariness 
of  his  manner,  took  courage  to  unite  in  plotting  his  down- 
fall. His  appointment  of  Greek  and  Latin  seminaries,  the 
severity  of  his  examinations  for  ordination,  his  harshness  of 
manner,  and  above  all  his  attacking  so  many  established 
customs,  and  revising  the  services  of  the  church,  had  also 
already  alienated  the  clergy.  The  division  was  begun,  which, 
when  continued  under  Peter  the  Great,  separated  the  Ras- 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  381 

kolniks,  or  Old  Believers,  from  the  Orthodox  Russian 
Church.  It  was  said  that  Nikon  was  like  Luther,  who 
declared  that  he  was  only  restoring  primitive  Christianity, 
whilst  he  was  abolishing  the  mass,  sacraments,  &c. 

'  Having  himself  passed  through  all  the  ranks  and  conditions  of 
clerical  life,  having  been  a  novice  in  a  monastery,  parish  priest  for  ten 
years  in  a  country  village,  and  in  the  capital ;  then,  again,  for  a  long 
time  a  monk  and  recluse  in  a  wild  solitude,  hegumen  in  a  poor  and 
lone  convent,  archimandrite  of  a  rich  monastery,  metropolitan  of  the 
first  diocese,  and,  last  of  all,  patriarch  ;  he  had  experienced  all  that  a 
spiritual  person  can  experience  ;  and  having  shown  in  every  station  a  strict 
pattern  of  good  conduct,  he  exacted  the  same  with  equal  strictness  from 
all  who  were  under  his  authority.  He  severely  punished  intemperance, 
according  to  the  custom  of  those  times,  with  stripes  and  imprisonment, 
not  sparing  even  his  own  confessor.' — Mouravieff. 

The  impression  which  Nikon's  independence  both  of 
action  and  conduct  was  making  upon  outsiders  may  be  seen 
from  the  report  of  the  ambassadors  of  Holstein  : — 

'  The  patriarch's  authority  is  so  great,  that  he,  in  manner,  divides 
the  sovereignty  with  the  Great  Duke.  He  is  supreme  judge  of  all 
ecclesiastical  causes,  and  absolutely  disposes  of  whatever  concerns  reli- 
gion with  such  power,  that,  in  things  relating  to  the  political  govern- 
ment, he  reforms  what  he  conceives  prejudicial  to  Christian  simplicity 
and  good  manners,  without  giving  the  Great  Duke  any  accompt  of  it, 
who,  without  contestation,  commands  the  orders  made  by  the  patriarch 
to  be  executed.' 

'  Nikon  keeps  a  good  table,  and  is  a  person  of  so  pleasant  a  disposi- 
tion, that  he  discovers  it  in  those  actions  that  require  the  greatest 
gravity.  For,  a  handsome  gentlewoman  being  presented  to  him  for 
his  benediction,  after  she  had  been  re-baptised  with  several  other  of 
her  friends,  he  told  her  that  he  was  in  some  doubt  whether  he  should 
begin  with  the  kiss,  which  is  given  to  proselytes  after  their  baptism,  or 
with  the  benediction.' 

From  the  Archdeacon  Paul  of  Antioch  we  learn  the  im- 


382  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

pression  made  by  the  sound  of  a  living  practical  sermon, 
heard  from  the  lips  of  Nikon  for  the  first  time,  after  many 
centuries  : — 

'Remark,  brother,  what  happened  now— an  occurrence  which  sur- 
prised and  confused  our  understandings.  It  was,  that  so  far  were  they 
from  being  content  with  their  lengthened  services,  that  the  deacon 
brought  to  the  patriarch  the  book  of  Lessons,  which  they  opened  before 
him  :  and  he  began  to  read  the  lesson  for  this  day,  on  the  subject  of 
the  Second  Advent :  and  not  only  did  he  read  it,  but  he  preached  and 
expounded  the  meanings  of  the  words  to  the  standing  and  silent  assem- 
bly ;  until  our  spirits  were  broken  within  us  during  the  tedious  while. 
God  preserve  us  and  save  us  ! '  —  Macarius,  i.  406. 

And  on  another  occasion  : — 

'  The  patriarch  was  not  satisfied  with  the  Ritual,  but  he  must  needs 
crown  all  with  an  admonition  and  copious  sermon.  God  grant  him 
moderation  !  His  heart  did  not  ache  for  the  Emperor  nor  for  the 
tender  infants,  standing  uncovered  in  the  intense  cold.  What  should 
we  say  to  this  in  our  country?' — Macaritis,  49,  51,  52. 

Yet  whilst  all  others  were  being  alienated  from  Nikon, 
he  had  still  one  friend  : — 

'  There  was  only  one  man  who  sincerely  loved  Nikon,  from  the 
recollection  of  his  services  and  his  unchangeable  affection,  and  that 
man  was  the  mild  Tsar  Alexis,  and  to  him  alone  was  the  patriarch 
devoted  with  his  whole  soul,  and  was  zealous  even  to  excess  for  his 
glory.  .  .  .  Their  mutual  affection  possessed  them  both  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  appeared  as  one  and  the  same  person  in  all  acts  of 
government.  .  .  .  And  indeed  this  was  the  most  affecting  circumstance 
in  all  the  fortunes  of  both  of  them,  that  even  in  the  time  of  those  long- 
continued  troubles  which  were  raised  between  them  by  the  envy  of  men 
who  wished  them  ill,  they  preserved  in  their  hearts  to  the  very  last 
moment  this  tender  friendship  ;  and  there  was  nothing  which  the  cour- 
tiers so  much  dreaded  as  the  chance  of  a  personal  meeting  between 
them. ' — Mouravieff. 


THE  STOR  Y-  OF  NIKON.  383 

Still,  as  the  influence  of  the  boyars  increased,  Alexis  be- 
came rarely  able  to  see  the  patriarch,  and  even  ceased  to 
attend  at  the  cathedral  when  he  officiated.  The  crisis,  which 
the  enemies  of  Nikon  had  long  hoped  for,  came  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  public  reception  of  the  Tsar  of  Georgia,  when  a  ser- 
vant of  the  patriarch  was  insulted  and  beaten  by  those  of 
the  Tsar.  Then  one  of  the  princes  began  to  reproach  him 
in  the  cathedral  for  his  pride,  on  account  of  his  title  of 
Great  Lord. 

'  At  this  Nikon  lost  all  patience,  and  gave  himself  up  to  his  indig- 
nation. When  he  had  finished  the  Liturgy,  he  declared  to  all  the  people 
that  his  unworthiness  was  the  cause  of  all  the  wars  and  pestilences,  and 
of  all  the  disorders  of  the  kingdom.  He  then  placed  the  staff  of  Peter 
the  Thaumaturge  on  the  icon  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  which  had  been 
brought  from  Vladimir,  and  declared  with  a  loud  voice  that  from  hence- 
forth he  was  no  longer  patriarch  of  Moscow  ;  he  took  off  his  episcopal 
robes,  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of  the  clergy  and  the  people,  put 
on  a  common  monk's  mantle,  and  having  written  in  the  vestry  a  letter 
to  the  Tsar  advising  him  of  his  abdication  of  the  patriarchal  throne,  he 
sate  down  on  the  steps  of  the  ambon  and  awaited  the  answer.  The 
monarch  was  troubled  and  sent  the  Prince  Troubetskoi  to  exhort  him 
to  remain,  but  this  prince  also  was  in  the  number  of  his  enemies.  The 
people  wept  and  kept  the  doors  of  the  cathedral  shut,  but  Nikon  re- 
mained inflexible,  and  refusing  to  return  any  more  into  the  patriarchal 
lodgings,  went  out  of  the  Kremlin  on  foot  to  the  town  house  of  the 
Iversky  monastery,  and  from  thence  without  waiting  for  any  permission 
from  the  Tsar,  he  proceeded  to  the  monastery  of  the  Resurrection,  and 
refused  to  make  use  of  the  carriage  that  had  been  sent  for  him.  Prince 
Troubetskoi  went  after  him  again  to  that  monastery  to  inquire  in  the 
name  of  the  Tsar  the  reason  of  his  departure.  Nikon  answered,  that  he 
sought  for  quiet  for  the  sake  of  his  soul's  health,  again  renounced  the 
patriarchate,  and  asked  only  to  be  permitted  to  retain  his  three  monaste- 
ries, the  Voscresensky,  Iversky,  and  Krestnoy,  gave  his  benediction  to 
Pitirium,  the  metropolitan  of  the  Steeps,  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the 
Church,  and,  lastly,  in  a  touching  letter,  humbly  begged  the  Christian 
forgiveness  of  the  Tsar  for  his  sudden  departure  from  the  capital.' — 
Mouravieff. 


384  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

In  his  self-sought  seclusion,  Nikon,  though  he  wasted  his 
body  with  prayers  and  fasting,  and  worked  like  a  common 
mason  at  the  building  of  his  church,  was  not  humbled  in  spirit. 
He  took  to  heart  every  affront,  and  so  continually  anathema- 
tised his  enemies,  that  he  laid  himself  open  to  the  false 
accusation  that  he  had  cursed  the  Tsar  himself.  Against 
Alexis  alone,  however,  he  bore  no  enmity,  and  the  Tsar 
on  his  side  constantly  defended  the  patriarch,  and  sent 
presents  to  his  monastery.  At  length  the  advice  of  the  only 
boyar  who  remained  favourable  to  him,  confirmed,  as  he  be- 
lieved, by  a  vision,  persuaded  Nikon  to  go  secretly  by  night 
to  Moscow,  and  by  a  sudden  appearance  on  the  patriarchal 
throne,  endeavour  to  recall  the  affections  of  sovereign  and 
people.  Unfortunately  the  Tsar  was  warned  of  his  arrival, 
and  consulted  his  nobles,  to  whom  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and 
death  to  prevent  an  interview,  and  they  were  successful 
in  doing  so.  Alexis  ordered  Nikon  back  to  his  country 
monastery,  and  he  went  bearing  away  with  him  the  staff  of 
Peter  the  Wonderworker,  as  a  sign  that  he  had  never  left  his 
throne  with  any  intention  of  renouncing  it  :  he  afterwards 
consented  to  give  up  the  staff  to  the  Tsar,  but  to  no  one  but 
the  Tsar. 

The  fall  of  Nikon  was  now  inevitable.  Alexis  summoned 
the  four  Eastern  patriarchs,  and  a  number  of  Eastern  bishops, 
to  meet  in  council  in  the  palace  of  the  patriarchs  at  Moscow, 
and  by  them,  in  the  presence  of  the  Tsar  and  his  boyars, 
Nikon  was  tried.  Many  were  the  false  accusations  produced 
against  him,  especially  that  he  had  entered  into  treasonable 
correspondence  with,  and  accepted  bribes  from  the  King  of 
Poland.  But  the  principal  reason  brought  forward  as  a  pre- 
text for  his  deposition,  was  that  having  voluntarily  deserted 


THE  STORY  OF  NIKON.  385 

his  flock  by  abdication,  he  was  no  longer  fit  to  rule.  He 
was  accused  of  having  cursed  the  Tsar  Alexis  ;  this  he 
denied,  but  allowed  that  he  had  cursed  some  of  the  boyars, 
( robbers  of  the  Church,' who  having  once  given  up  lands  for 
his  monastery  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  had  redemanded  and 
recovered  them.  When  the  council  met  for  the  third  time, 
Nikon  was  formally  degraded  and  sentenced  to  banishment. 

'  Between  Nikon  and  his  accusers  all  the  fierceness  of  long-pent 
indignation  was  let  loose.  But  between  him  and  the  Tsar  there  was 
hardly  anything  but  an  outpouring  of  tenderness  and  affection.  Tears 
flowed  from  the  Tsar's  eyes  as  he  read  the  accusation  ;  and  the  sight  of 
his  ancient  friend  standing,  habited  as  if  for  a  capital  sentence,  so 
moved  his  heart  that,  to  the  consternation  of  the  nobles,  he  descended 
from  the  throne,  walked  up  to  the  patriarch,  took  him  by  the  hand, 
and  burst  forth  into  a  plaintive  entreaty  :  "  Oh,  most  holy  father,  why 
hast  thou  put  upon  me  such  a  reproach,  preparing  thyself  for  the  council 
as  if  for  death  ?  Thinkest  thou  that  I  have  forgotten  all  thy  services  to 
me  and  my  family  during  the  plague,  and  our  former  friendship  ? " 
Mutual  remonstrances  between  the  two  friends  led  to  recriminations  be- 
tween their  attendants.  "That,  O  religious  Tsar,  is  a  lie  !"  was  the 
somewhat  abrupt  expression  of  one  of  Nikon's  clerks,  on  hearing  a  false 
accusation  brought  against  his  master.  In  the  general  silence,  pro- 
duced either  by  the  force  of  Nikon's  replies  or  by  the  awful  presence  of 
the  friendly  Tsar,  when  Alexis  turned  round  to  see  if  some  of  his  nobles 
had  anything  to  urge  :  ' '  Why  do  you  not  bid  them  take  up  stones  ? 
So  would  they  soon  make  an  end  of  me  ;  but  not  with  words,  though 
they  should, spend  nine  years  more  in  collecting  them."  They  parted 
never  to  meet  again. 

'  Alexis  could  not  bear  to  be  present  at  his  condemnation.  The 
third  and  last  meeting  therefore  of  the  council  was  assembled  in  a 
small  church  over  the  gates  of  one  of  the  Kremlin  convents.  Nikon 
was  degraded  from  his  office  to  the  rank  of  a  simple  monk,  and  banished 
for  the  rest  of  his  life  to  do  penance  in  a  distant  monastery. 

'  He  maintained  his  proud  sarcastic  bearing  to  the  end.  "  Why  do 
you  degrade  me,  without  the  presence  of  the  Tsar,  in  this  small  church, 
and  not  in  the  cathedral  where  you  once  implored  me  to  ascend  the  patri- 
archal throne  ?  "  "  Take  this,"  he  said,  offering  the  Eastern  patriarchs  a 
large  pearl  from  the  front  of  his  white  metropolitan  cowl,  which  they  took 

C  C 


386  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

off  with  their  own  hands  from  his  head  ;  "  it  will  help  to  support  you 
under  your  oppressions  in  Turkey,  but  it  will  not  last  you  long.  Better 
stay  at  home  there  than  go  wandering  about  the  world  as  mendicants." 
It  was  in  the  depth  of  a  Russian  winter,  and  the  Tsar  sent  him  by  one 
of  the  kindlier  courtiers  a  present  of  money  and  sable  furs  for  the 
journey  to  the  far  north.  The  impenetrable  prelate  sternly  replied  : 
"  Take  these  back  to  him  who  sent  them  ;  these  are  not  what  Nikon 
wants."  The  courtier  entreated  him  not  to  affront  the  Tsar  by  his 
refusal  ;  and  also  asked  in  the  Tsar's  name  for  his  forgiveness  and 
blessing.  "  He  loved  not  blessing,"  said  Nikon,  in  allusion  to  the 
logth  Psalm,  in  which  he  had  before  cursed  all  his  enemies  except  the 
Tsar,  "and  therefore  it  shall  be  far  from  him."  To  the  nobles  he 
shook  off  the  dust  of  his  feet  ;  and  on  one  of  them  sweeping  it  up  and 
saying  (in  allusion  to  the  goods  of  the  church,  which  they  now  hoped 
to  get),  that  this  was  just  what  they  wanted,  he  pointed  to  the  comet 
then  flaming  in  the  sky — "the  besom  star,"  as  it  is  called  in  Russ — 
and  said,  "God's  besom  shall  sweep  you  all  away."  To  the  people, 
who,  in  spite  of  their  prejudice  against  his  reforms,  flocked  round  him 
also  for  his  blessing,  he  replied  in  a  nobler  and  more  Christian  spirit, 
as  Philip  had  done  before,  the  one  word,  "  Pray."  The  sledge  was  at 
hand  to  carry  him  off,  and  he  entered  it  with  the  episcopal  staff  and 
mantle  which  the  patriarchs,  for  fear  of  the  people,  had  not  ventured  to 
remove.  A  winter  cloak  was  thrown  over  him  by  the  pity  of  one  of 
the  more  gentle  of  the  hierarchy.  With  a  dry  irony  he  repeated  to 
himself:  "Ah,  Nikon,  Nikon,  do  not  lose  your  friends.  Do  not  say 
all  that  may  be  true.  If  you  would  only  have  given  a  few  good  dinners, 
and  have  dined  with  them  in  return,  none  of  these  things  would  have 
befallen  you."  Through  the  south  gate  of  the  Kremlin,  to  avoid  the 
crowds  collected  on  the  north  side  in  expectation  of  seeing  him  pass, 
he  was  borne  away  with  the  furious  speed  of  Russian  drivers,  across  the 
ancient  bridge  of  the  Moskwa,  and  rapidly  out  of  sight  of  those  towers 
of  the  Kremlin  which  had  witnessed  the  striking  vicissitudes  of  his 
glory  and  his  fall. 

'  At  evening,  it  is  said,  they  halted  in  a  house  from  which  the  occu- 
pants had  been  ejected.  In  the  middle  of  the  night,  when  Nikon  and 
his  attendants  had  been  left  to  themselves  in  the  piercing  cold  of  their 
destitute  condition,  a  trap-door  in  the  floor  of  the  room  opened,  an  old 
woman  came  up,  and  asked  which  was  the  patriarch  Nikon.  "  I  am 
he,"  said  the  fallen  prelate.  She  fell  at  his  feet,  and  solemnly  assured 
him  that  she  had  seen  in  a  dream  the  night  before  a  very  goodly  man 
saying  to  her  :  "  My  servant  Nikon  is  coming  hither  in  great  cold  and 


THE  STOR  Y  OF  NIKON.  387 

need  of  all  things  ;  now,  therefore,  give  him  what  thou  hast  by  thee  for 
his  needs."  In  this  way  —so  runs  the  story,  which  is  curious  as  showing 
the  impression  produced  on  the  popular  mind  by  Nikon's  career — he 
was  protected  against  the  severity  of  the  rest  of  the  journey,  till  his 
arrival  at  the  monastery  of  Therapontoff,  on  the  shores  of  the  White 
Lake. ' — Stinky. 

Nikon  was  degraded  to  the  rank  of  a  common  monk, 
and  during  nine  years  he  remained  in  imprisonment.  At 
first  this  was  very  severe  ;  the  windows  of  his  cell  were 
barred  with  iron,  and  he  was  not  permitted  to  take  exercise. 
He  was  offered  a  pardon,  but  refused  to  accept  it  for  sins  he 
had  never  committed.  Then  the  Tsar  perpetually  sent  to 
ask  his  forgiveness,  but  it  was  long  before  Nikon  was  even 
induced  to  forgive  personally,  as  a  man,  and  so  far  to  send 
his  blessing  as  to  desire  Alexis  to  seek  a  fuller  and  more 
complete  absolution,  which  he  could  not  give  till  he  should 
see  his  face  in  Moscow.1  In  1676  he  received  the  news  of 
the  death  of  Alexis.  Then  he  groaned,  and  said  :  *  What 
though  he  never  saw  me  to  take  leave  of  me  here,  we  shall 
meet  and  be  judged  together  at  the  terrible  coming  of 
Christ.' 2 

'  Alexis,  on  his  death-bed,  by  special  messengers,  as  well  as  by  his 
written  testament,  once  more  solemnly  asked  Nikon's  "  forgiveness  and 
absolution,"  calling  him  his  "  Spiritual  Father,  Great  Lord,  Most  Holy 
Hierarch,  and  Blessed  Pastor,"  and  regretting  that  "  by  the  judgments 
of  God"  (that  is  to  say,  not  by  the  Tsar's  own  will)  he  was  not  then  in 
his  proper  place,  filling  the  patriarchal  throne  of  Moscow.  And  Nikon 
(though  Alexis  died  before  it  could  reach  him)  sent  once  more  his 
personal  and  verbal  forgiveness  (refusing  to  give  it  in  writing,  lest  the 
boyars  should  make  any  undue  use  of  it),  and  alluded  once  more  with 
a  sigh  to  that  public  sin  of  which  it  was  beyond  him  either  to  remit  the 
guilt  or  to  avert  the  consequences  :  "  We  shall  meet  before  the  dread 
tribunal  of  God  !  " — Palmer. 

1  Palmer.  "  Mouravieff. 

C  C  2 


388  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Fresh  trials  fell  upon  Nikon  after  the  death  of  Alexis. 
His  enemies  renewed  their  accusations,  and  the  young  Tsar 
Feodor  caused  him  to  be  removed  from  Therapontoff  to  the 
fortified  monastery  of  S.  Cyril,  on  the  White  Lake,  where 
he  was  kept  in  strict  confinement  for  three  years.  At  the 
end  of  this  time  the  Tsarevna  Tatiana,  sister  of  the  Tsar 
Alexis,  persuaded  her  nephew  to  receive  a  petition  from  the 
brethren  of  the  New  Jerusalem  for  the  return  of  their 
founder,  after  which  the  Tsar  laid  before  the  Synod  a  propo- 
sition to  allow  the  aged  Nikon  to  return  to  his  own  monas- 
tery to  die,  in  which  the  then  patriarch,  touched  by  the  report 
of  his  exiled  rival's  failing  health,  was  induced  to  acquiesce. 

'  On  the  very  same  day  on  which  the  gracious  permission  of  the 
Tsar  to  the  patriarch  arrived  at  the  monastery  of  S.  Cyril,  Nikon, 
while  it  was  yet  very  early,  from  a  secret  presentiment  had  prepared 
himself  for  the  journey,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  everybody,  ordered 
the  religious  who  were  in  personal  attendance  upon  himself  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness.  With  difficulty  they  placed  the  old  man,  now 
worn  out  with  sickness  and  infirmity,  in  the  sledge  which  took  him  by 
land  to  a  barge  on  the  river  Sheksna,  by  which  he  descended  to  the 
Volga.  Here  he  was  to  be  met  by  brethren  from  the  Voscresensky 
monastery,  that  is  the  monastery  of  the  Resurrection,  or  New  Jerusalem, 
who  had  been  sent  for  that  purpose.  Nikon  gave  orders  to  drop  down 
the  Volga  as  far  as  Yaroslaf,  and  having  been  put  in  to  shore  at  the 
Tolskoy  monastery,  he  received  the  communion  of  the  sick,  for  he 
began  to  be  exceedingly  feeble.  The  hegumen,  with  all  the  brother- 
hood, went  out  to  meet  him,  accompanied  by  a  former  enemy  of  Nikon, 
the  archimandrite  Sergius,  the  same  that  during  his  trial  kept  him 
under  guard,  and  covered  him  with  reproaches,  but  had  since  been  sent 
in  disgrace  to  this  monastery  to  perform  penance.  This  Sergius,  having 
fallen  asleep  in  the  Trapeza  or  Refectory  at  the  very  hour  of  the  arrival 
of  Nikon,  saw  in  a  dream  the  patriarch  appearing  to  him,  and  saying, 
"  Brother  Sergius,  arise  ;  let  us  forgive  and  take  leave  of  each  other  !  " 
— when  suddenly  at  that  moment  he  was  awakened  and  told  that  the 
patriarch  was  actually  approaching  by  the  Volga,  and  that  the  brother- 
hood had  already  gone  out  to  the  bank  to  meet  him.  Sergius  followed 


THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES.  389 

immediately,  and  when  he  saw  Nikon  dying,  he  fell  at  his  feet,  and 
shedding  tears  of  repentance,  asked  and  obtained  forgiveness. 

'  Death  had  already  begun  to  come  upon  the  patriarch  by  the  time 
that  the  barge  was  moving  down  the  stream.  The  citizens  of  Yaro- 
slaf,  hearing  of  his  arrival,  crowded  to  the  river,  and  seeing  the  old 
man  lying  on  his  couch  all  but  dead,  threw  themselves  down  before 
him  with  tears,  kissing  his  hands  and  garments,  and  begging  his  bless- 
ing ;  some  towed  the  barge  along  the  shore,  others  threw  themselves 
into  the  water  to  assist  them,  and  then  they  drew  it  in  and  moored  it 
against  the  monastery  of  the  All-merciful  Saviour. 

'  The  sufferer  was  already  so  exhausted  that  he  could  not  speak, 
but  only  gave  his  hand  to  them  all.  The  Tsar's  secretary  ordered  them 
to  tow  the  barge  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  to  avoid  the  crowds  of 
the  people.  Nikon  was  on  the  point  of  death  ;  suddenly  he  turned 
and  looked  about  as  if  some  one  had  come  to  call  him,  and  then 
arranged  his  hair,  beard,  and  dress  for  himself,  as  if  in  preparation  for 
his  last  and  longest  journey.  His  confessor,  together  with  all  the 
brethren  standing  around,  read  the  commendatory  prayers  for  the 
dying ;  and  the  patriarch,  stretching  himself  out  to  his  full  length  on 
the  couch,  and  laying  his  arms  crosswise  upon  his  breast,  gave  one 
sigh,  and  departed  from  this  world  in  peace.' — Mouravieff. 


Whilst  we  have  been  following  the  history  of  Nikon, 
we  must  have  arrived  at  the  brow  of  the  hill  opposite  the 
monastery  of  Voscresensky,  or  the  New  Jerusalem.  A  small 
chapel,  called  Eleon,  and  a  cross  mark  the  spot  on  'the 
Mount  of  Olives  '  where  Nikon  and  Alexis  met  affectionately 
for  the  last  time  at  the  consecration  of  the  wooden  edifice 
which  preceded  the  present  monastery.  Alexis  said  to 
Nikon,  as  he  looked  upon  the  view,  that  God  seemed  from 
the  beginning  to  have  prepared  it  as  a  site  for  a  monastery, 
'  for  it  is  as  beautiful  as  Jerusalem  itself.'  Then  the  heart 
of  Nikon  was  moved,  and  he  pleased  Alexis  by  giving  the 
name  of  the  New  Jerusalem  to  the  monastery,  and  charging 
the  Bursar  Arsenius  Souchaiioff,  who  was  then  travelling  in 
the  East  to  collect  manuscripts,  to  bring  him  back  a  wooden 


390 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


model  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  its  exact 
measurements,  that  he  might  imitate  them.  Thenceforth 
Nikon  changed  the  name  of  the  little  river  Istra  to  the 
Jordan  ;  another  brook  he  called  Kedron  ;  the  hill  nearest 
the  monastery  became  the  Mount  of  Olives  ;  a  more  distant 
wooded  height  was  Mount  Tabor.  The  centre  of  the 
monastic  enclosure  is  occupied  by  the  vast  church,  to  which 


THE    NEW    JERUSALEM. 


many  external  chapels  have  been  added  ;  but  internally,  its 
form  and  dimensions  are  exactly  the  same  as  those  of  the 
famous  church  at  Jerusalem,  with  the  additional  interest  of 
its  being  more  exactly  like  the  building  of  the  old  crusaders 
than  the  church  in  Palestine  itself. J 

Here  we  may  imagine  Nikon,  in  the  years  which  suc- 

1  '  i.  There  are  no  walls  of  partition  between  the  sect?.  2.  The  dome  is  of  larger 
proportions,  higher,  and  covered.  3.  The  entrance  into  the  Chapel  of  the  Sepulchre 
from  the  antechapel  has  not  been  raised.  3.  The  Chapels  of  the  Sepulchre  and  of 
the  Golgotha  are  without  altars.  5.  The  irregular  form  of  the  rock  by  the  Golgotha 
has  not  been  smoothed  away.' — Stanley  s  ''Eastern  Church.' 


THE  NEW  JERUSALEM.  391 

ceeded  his  abdication,  daily,  with  a  nude  hermit  by  his  side, 
repeating  the  curses  in  the  io9th  Psalm.  Behind  the  altar 
are  the  ranges  of  seats  which  Nikon  prepared  as  for  a  General 
Council,  surmounted  by  the  five  patriarchal  thrones  of  Con- 
stantinople, Antioch,  Alexandria,  Jerusalem,  and  Moscow. 
In  the  sacristy  is  the  wooden  throne  of  Nikon  and  his  por- 
trait, with  that  of  Alexis.  At  the  foot  of  the  Golgotha,  in 
the  Chapel  of  Melchizedek,  where  the  sepulchre  of  Godfrey 
de  Bouillon  stands  in  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  is  the  tomb 
of  Nikon.  At  one  end  is  his  favourite  icon,  and  above  it 
hangs  the  broad  iron  plate  with  a  cross  of  brass  on  an  iron 
chain,  which  he  wore  for  twenty  years  round  his  neck. 

'  The  pious  Tsar  Feoclor,  not  knowing  that  Nikon  was  dead,  had 
sent  his  own  carriage  to  meet  him,  with  a  number  of  horses.  When 
he  was  informed  of  the  patriarch's  death  he  shed  tears,  and  asked  what 
Nikon  had  desired  respecting  his  last  will.  And  when  he  learned  that 
the  departed  prelate  had  chosen  him,  his  godson,  to  be  his  executor,  and 
had  confided  everything  to  him,  the  good-hearted  Tsar  replied  with 
emotion,  "  If  it  be  so,  and  the  Most  Holy  Patriarch  Nikon  has  reposed 
all  his  confidence  in  me,  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  I  will  not 
forget  him."  He  gave  orders  for  conveying  the  body  to  the  New 
Jerusalem. 

'  New  difficulties  were  raised  by  the  patriarch  Joachim  with  regard 
to  the  funeral  of  Nikon,  to  whom  he  would  not  consent  to  render 
episcopal  honours,  objecting  that  he  had  been  degraded  by  the  sentence 
of  the  Oecumenical  patriarchs.  However,  the  Tsar  persuaded  Corne- 
lius, the  metropolitan  of  Novogorod,  to  officiate  at  his  interment 
without  any  permission  from  Joachim  ;  and  he  himself  in  person  took  a 
part  in  that  affecting  ceremony,  and  helped  to  bear  the  body  on  his 
shoulders  from  the  cross  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  spot  where 
formerly  the  deceased  had  stood  with  his  royal  father,  when  he  gave 
the  name  of  New  Jerusalem  to  his  monastery,  to  the  tomb  under 
Calvary  which  he  had  himself  prepared  for  his  everlasting  rest.  Not 
more  than  eight  months  were  to  intervene  before  the  amiable  prince 
who  had  thus  assisted  at  the  funeral  of  Nikon  was  to  be  himself  peace- 
fully removed  from  a  temporal  to  an  eternal  kingdom  ;  he,  however, 


392 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


made  use  of  this  short  space  to  obtain  letters  of  absolution  for  the 
deceased  from  the  four  Oecumenical  patriarchs,  who  unanimously 
received  him  again  into  their  pontifical  assembly. 

'  During  the  course  of  his  seventy  years  on  earth  Nikon  was  more' 
or  less  contemporary  with  all  the  Russian  patriarchs.  He  was  born 
while  the  patriarchate  was  still  held  by  Job,  .  .  .  and  he  died  when 
the  last  patriarch,  Adrian,  was  already  archimandrite  of  the  Choudoff.' 
— Motiravieff. 


THE   TOMB    OF    NIKON. 


A  picture  in  the  convent  gives  the  scene  of  the  funeral, 
the  Tsar  walking  before  the  gigantic  corpse  on  its  uncovered 
bier.  In  the  monastery  the  hat,  and  shoes,  and  sheepskin 
cloak  of  Nikon  are  preserved,  recalling  his  life  after  his 
abdication,  spent  chiefly  in  fishing,  farming,  and  building.  His 
robes  at  Moscow  show  that  his  stature  was  seven  feet. 

Many  other  curious  relics  are  exhibited  at  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, including  the  valuable  wooden  model  made  for  Nikon, 


THE  HERMITAGE   OF  NIKON.  393 

and  exactly  representing  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
in  his  time,  and  the  illuminated  Gospel  of  his  ever-faithful 
friend,  the  Tsarevna  Tatiana.  In  the  library,  thirty  pieces 
of  silver  are  preserved  as  '  those  paid  for  the  betrayal.'  But 
the  great  palladium  in  the  church  is  the  icon  of  '  the  Virgin 
with  three  hands,'  supposed  to  be  typical  of  the  Trinity. 

'  An  artist,  being  employed  on  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  and  Child, 
found  one  day,  that  instead  of  two-hands  which  he  had  given  to  the 
Virgin,  a  third  had  been  added  during  his  absence  from  his  work. 
Supposing  some  person  had  been  playing  a  trick  with  him,  he  rubbed 
out  the  third  hand,  and,  having  finished  the  picture,  carefully  locked 
the  door  of  his  apartment.  To  his  great  surprise,  he  found  the  next 
day  the  extraordinary  addition  of  a  third  hand  in  the  picture,  as  before. 
He  now  began  to  be  alarmed,  but  still  concluding  it  possible  that  some 
person  had  gained  access  to  his  room,  he  once  more  rubbed  out  the 
superfluous  hand,  and  not  only  locked  the  door,  but  also  barricaded 
the  windows.  The  next  day,  approaching  his  laboratory,  he  found  the 
door  and  windows  fast,  as  he  had  left  them  ;  but,  to  his  utter  dismay 
and  astonishment,  as  he  went  in,  there  appeared  the  same  remarkable 
alteration  in  his  picture,  the  Virgin  appearing  with  three  hands  regu- 
larly disposed  about  the  Child.  In  extreme  trepidation  he  began  to 
cross  himself,  and  proceeded  once  more  to  alter  the  picture  ;  when  the 
Virgin  herself  appeared  in  person,  and  bade  him  forbear,  as  it  was  her 
pleasure  to  be  so  represented.' — Clarke's  '  Travels.'* 

Not  half  a  mile  from  the  monastery,  in  the  wood,  is  still 
standing,  well  preserved,  the  four-storied  hermitage  tower  of 
Nikon,  the  '  skeet,'  as  it  is  called,  whence  he  watched  the 
building  of  his  monastery,  often  assisting  the  workmen,  like 
a  common  mason,  with  his  own  hands.  A  narrow  stair 
leads  to  a  tiny  chapel,  and  the  chamber  where  he  devoted 
himself  to  composing  his  chronicle — the  '  Chronicle  of  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem ' — taken  from  the  Russian  annalists 
from  the  time  of  Nestor  to  that  of  Alexis  Michailovitch. 
In  the  beginning  the  author  anathematises  everyone  who 


394  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

should  alter  even  the  minutest  expression  in  his  work.  A 
stone  recess  is  shown  as  '  Nikon's  bed,'  too  short  for  his  great 
height,  on  which  he  is  said  to  have  taken  his  brief  three 
hours'  rest.  Here  it  was  that  he  had  that  strange  vision 
which  led  to  his  sudden  and  unwelcome  reappearance  in  the 
great  cathedral  of  the  Kremlin. 

'  He  dreamed  that  he  was  once  more  in  his  own  beloved  cathedral, 
and  one  by  one  he  saw  rise  from  their  graves  the  whole  line  of  his  pre- 
decessors in  the  metropolitan  see  :  Peter,  whose  wonder-working  staff 
he  had  laid  on  the  sacred  picture  ;  Alexis,  from  the  chapel  hard  by, 
the  champion  of  Russia  against  the  Tartars  ;  Philip,  murdered  by  Ivan 
the  Terrible  ;  Job,  the  blind  old  man  who  had  vainly  struggled  against 
the  false  Demetrius  ;  Hermogenes,  starved  to  death  by  the  Polish 
invaders  ;  Philaret,  grandfather  of  the  Tsar  Alexis  ;  one  by  one,  at  the 
call  of  the  wonder-worker  Jonah,  they  rose  from  the  four  corners  and 
from  the  array  of  tombs  beside  the  painted  walls,  and  took  him  by  the 
hand,  and  raised  him  once  more  into  the  patriarchal  throne.  He  woke 
up  and  left  his  cramped  couch.  He  returned  by  night  to  Moscow,  on 
the  eve  of  Peter's  festival.' — Stanley,  '  The  Eastern  Church.'1 

The  wooded  banks  of  the  river  below  the  monastery 
present  one  of  the  softest  and  prettiest  fragments  of  scenery 
in  the  country.  Such  rivers  as  these  are  supposed  to  be  the 
especial  resort  of  the  Rusalkas  or  water  nymphs.  Dressed  in 
green  leaves,  they  will  sit  on  the  banks  combing  out  their 
flowing  locks.  Their  strength  is  in  their  hair,  and  if  it  be- 
comes dry,  they  die.  But  a  magic  comb  can  preserve 
moisture  even  in  the  hair,  and  water  flows  forth  at  its  touch. 
They  beguile  youths  and  maidens  into  their  streams,  and 
drown  them  or  tickle  them  to  death.  The  ripple  of  the 
waters  is  the  sound  of  the  dancing  feet  of  the  Rusalka,  the 
splash  of  the  water-wheel  is  caused  by  her  play.  In  winter 
she  disappears  and  dwells  beneath  the  water  in  a  crystal  hall. 
With  the  spring  she  comes  forth,  and  with  the  winds  is 


THE    WATER  SPIRITS.  395 

mingled  her  cry  for  clothing,  for  which  the  peasants  hang 
rags  upon  the  trees  near  the  streams.  The  Rusalkas  have 
great  influence  over  the  harvest,  and  in  some  parts  of  Russia, 
after  Whitsuntide,  a  straw  figure  is  dressed  in  woman's 
clothes  to  represent  a  Rusalka  ;  the  peasants  fight  over 
it  and  tear  it  to  pieces,  and  by  this  observance  the 
Rusalkas  are  supposed  to  be  put  to  flight.  After  S.  Peter's 
day  (June  29)  darker  circles  of  grass  in  the  fields  mark 
the  spot  where  the  Rusalkas  have  danced  by  the  light  of 
the  moon,  having  sometimes  induced  a  shepherd  to  play  to 
them.1 

Another  water-spirit  is  the  Vodyany,  who,  like  the 
Domovoy,  is  called  grandfather  by  the  peasants.  His  ap- 
pearance is  supposed  to  be  that  of  an  old  man,  but  he  can 
change  himself  into  a  fish  or  into  a  merman  with  a  fish's  tail. 
He  sleeps  during  winter,  but  the  hunger  writh  which  he  wakes 
in  spring  must  be  propitiated  by  the  peasants.  Fishermen 
also,  who  depend  much  upon  his  favour,  must  pour  oil 
upon  the  waters  to  appease  him.  Every  watermill  is  sup- 
posed to  have  a  special  Vodyany  attached  to  it.2 

Travellers  might  do  worse  than  to  stay  for  a  time  at  the 
pleasant,  clean  little  inn  at  the  New  Jerusalem,  where  they 
would  be  in  the  heart  of  Russian  peasant  life,  and  would 
have  more  opportunity  of  observing  the  habits  and  customs 
of  the  people  than  is  often  available.  Though  mingled  with 
more  superstition  than  is  met  with  in  Roman  Catholic 
countries,  no  one  can  fail  to  be  touched  by  the  religious 
feeling  and  simple  faith  which  prevails. 

'  Le  moujich  croit  fermement  que  rien  n'arrive  sans  le  consentement 
ou  la  volonte  des  saints,  "  qui  descendent  du  ciel,  a  1'epoque  fixe,  pour 

1  Ralston.  2  See  Ralston's  Songs  of  the  Russian  People. 


396  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

voir  ce  qui  se  passe  sur  la  terre,  recompenser  les  bons  et  punir  les 
mechants."  Tel  saint  guerit  de  la  rage,  tel  autre  vous  fait  decouvrir 
les  voleurs  ;  il  y  a  aussi  un  saint  qui  aide  les  poules  a  pondre  et  les 
paysannes  a  vendre  les  oeufs  ;  un  saint  special,  comme  notre  Saint 
Antoine,  est  I'ami  et  le  bienfaiteur  des  cochons.  Les  saintes  ne  sont 
pas  moins  occupees.  II  y  en  a  qui  plantent  et  soignent  les  choux,  ou 
qui  protegent  les  oies  et  les  canards  ;  1'une  donne  des  garcons  aux  filles, 
1'autre  des  filles  aux  garcons.  Dans  les  villes,  le  clerge  conduit  aupres 
des  malades,  en  caleche  de  gala,  1'image  miraculeuse  de  la  Vierge,  et 
s'en  fait  de  beaux  revenus.' — Victor  Tissot. 

The  peasants  are  content  with  the  merest  necessaries  ; 
indeed,  the  necessaries  of  other  European  countries  are 
luxuries  in  Russia.  In  the  well-to-do  classes  a  feast  will 
consist  of  a  little  vodki,  tea,  and  pies  of  minced  cabbage. 
Far  more  is  made  of  all  domestic  events— christenings, 
marriages,  &c.,  amongst  the  Russian  than  the  English 
peasantry,  and  the  interest  of  such  an  event  in  a  small 
village  strikes  a  sympathetic  chord  though  every  house. 
There  is  a  regular  observance  for  the  first  washing  and 
dressing  of  an  infant,  and,  if  it  belongs  to  a  family  not  of 
the  very  lowest  class,  the  priest  is  sent  for  w^hen  it  is  twenty- 
four  hours  old,  to  offer  prayers  on  behalf  of  it  and  its  mother, 
and  to  give  it  a  name.  By  this  name  or  its  diminutive  the 
child  is  henceforth  known,  for  there  is  nothing  which 
answers  to  '  Baby '  in  Russian,  though  no  language  is  more 
rich  in  terms  of  affection  (or  of  abuse). 

'  A  new-born  infant  lies  swaddled  in  its  dark  liulka,  lhe  convenient 
though  by  no  means  ornamental  cradle  of  the  babes  of  Russia.  A 
four-sided  bag  of  ticking  is  strongly  sewn  to  a  frame  of  wood,  which 
has  an  iron  ring  at  each  corner  through  which  are  passed  leather  straps, 
and  by  them  the  liulka  is  suspended  to  the  extremity  of  a  long  pole, 
the  other  end  of  which  passes  through  a  ring  fastened  in  the  ceiling, 
and  which  is  so  pliant  that  the  slightest  touch  given  to  the  wooden 
frame  causes  it  to  move  gently  and  noiselessly  up  and  down.  A  wide 


CHRISTENINGS.  397 

curtain  of  dark  print,  or,  in  very  well-to-do  families,  of  silk,  hangs 
round  the  little  bed  from  the  pole. 

'  A  wrinkled  old  nurse  sits  by  the  liulka,  rocking  it  and  chanting 
in  a  cracked  and  sleepy  voice  a  monotonous  lullaby.  She  watches  the 
child  like  a  soldier  on  guard  at  a  prison  door,  and  woe  to  the  in- 
cautious visitor  who  exclaims,  ' '  Oh,  what  a  lovely  child  !  Ah  !  what 
a  fine  healthy  boy  !  " 

'  "  God  bless  him  !  The  Lord  be  with  him  !  The  Holy  Virgin  be 
about  him  !  "  the  nurse  would  exclaim  indignantly.  "  Do  you  wish 
the  little  angel  to  be  bewitched,  sudarina?  Is  it  the  first  babe  you 
have  seen — the  first  pretty  one  ?  Ah,  thou  Christ's  babe  of  mine  !  thou 
Lord's  child  of  mine  !  go  to  sleep,  my  general  !  "  Half  pleased  at 
your  praise,  half  apprehensive  of  the  effect  your  exclamations  (the 
thing  is,  to  avoid  interjections)  may  have  on  the  sleep  and  health  of 
her  charge,  she  draws  the  dark  curtains  closer  around  him,  murmuring 
prayers  for  his  welfare,  while  the  abashed  visitor  excuses  herself,  assur- 
ing the  nurse  that  she  has  by  no  means  an  evil  eye,  and  never  bewitched 
anybody  in  her  life. 

'  "  Well,  don't  boast  !  "  retorts  nurse.' — H.  C.  Romanoff. 

The  short  service  after  the  birth  (which  concludes  with 
an  invocation  to  Simeon)  is  followed  by  the  christening.  At 
this  the  godfather  provides  a  cross  of  gold  or  silver,  accord- 
ing to  his  position,  to  hang  round  the  child's  neck,  and  the 
godmother  gives  a  dress  both  to  the  child  and  its  mother ; 
the  former  being  a  little  shirt  decorated  with  lace  or  ribbons. 
The  '  Catechism  of  the  Orthodox  Church  '  describes  the  cere- 
mony of  baptism  by  saying  that  '  The  believer  is  immersed 
three  times  in  water,  in  the  name  of  the'  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  but  the  service  is  a  very  long 
one,  and  of  great  antiquity,  that  part  of  it  which  regards 
exorcism  being  mentioned  by  Tertullian  in  the  second 
century,  and  that  regarding  confession  both  by  him  and  by 
S.  Cyprian  in  the  third  century.  Before  the  actual  sacrament 
of  baptism,  the  parents,  if  previously  present,  must  retire, 
leaving  the  child  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  godparents. 


r9S  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  The  Russians  think  baptism  so  much  the  more  necessary,  in  that 
they  think  it  the  only  door  through  which  a  man  must  enter  the 
church,  and  so  into  paradise.  They  acknowledge  themselves  con- 
ceived and  born  in  sin,  and  that  God  hath  instituted  baptism  for  their 
regeneration,  and  to  cleanse  them,  by  water,  from  their  original  im- 
purity— whence  it  is  that  they  baptise  their  children  as  soon  as  they  are 
born.  If  the  child  be  weak,  he  is  immediately  baptised,  yet  not  in  the 
same  room  where  the  woman  lies  in  ;  but,  if  well,  he  is  carried  to 
church  by  the  godfather  and  godmother.  The  priest  receives  him  at 
the  church  door,  signs  him  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  forehead, 
and  gives  him  the  benediction,  saying,  The  Lord  preserve  thy  coming  in 
and  thy  going  out.  The  godfathers  deliver  the  priest  nine  wax  candles, 
which  he  lights  and  fastens  across  the  font,  which  stands  in  the  midst 
of  the  church.  He  incenses  the  godfathers,  and  consecrates  the  water 
with  many  ceremonies.  Then  he  makes  a  procession,  together  with 
the  godfathers,  who  have  wax  candles  in  their  hands,  about  the  font. 
The  clerk  goes  before,  carrying  the  image  of  S.  John,  and  they  go 
about  it  three  times,  the  priest  in  the  interim  reading  out  of  a  book. 
This  done,  the  priest  asks  the  godfathers  the  name  of  the  child,  who 
give  it  him  in  writing.  He  puts  the  paper  upon  an  image,  which  he 
holds  upon  the  child's  breast,  and  having  muttered  over  certain  prayers, 
he  asks  the  godfather  whether  the  child  believes  in  God,  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  Then  they  all  turn  their  backs  to  the  font,  to 
show  their  aversion  and  horror  to  the  three  questions  the  priest  is  to 
make  to  them  afterwards — to  wit,  whether  the  child  forsakes  the  devil, 
whether  he  forsakes  his  angels,  and  whether  he  forsakes  his  works. 
The  godfathers  answer  to  every  question  "  Yes,"  and  spit  so  many 
times  upon  the  ground.  That  done,  they  face  about  to  the  font,  and 
then  the  priest,  having  asked  them  whether  they  promise  to  bring  up 
the  child  in  the  true  Greek  religion,  exorcises  him,  by  putting  his 
hands  upon  the  child,  saying,  Get  out  of  this  child,  thon  unclean  spirit, 
and  make  -way  for  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by  blowing  three  times  upon 
the  child  to  drive  away  the  devil,  by  whom  they  believe  children  are 
really  possessed  before  baptism.  I  have  been  told  that  now  the  exor- 
cism is  performed  at  the  church  door,  lest  the  devil,  when  he  comes 
out  of  the  child,  should  profane  the  church.  Then  the  priest  cuts  off  a 
little  of  the  child's  hair  and  puts  it  into  a  book,  and  having  asked  the 
godfathers  whether  they  bring  that  child  to  be  baptised,  he  takes  him, 
being  stark  naked,  into  his  arms  and  dips  him  three  times  into  the 
water,  pronouncing  the  ordinary  words  of  the  sacrament,  /  baptise  thee 
in  the  nami  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


UNCTION  OF  CHILDREN.  39-; 

After  the  baptism  he  puts  a  corn  of  salt  into  the  child's  mouth,  makes 
the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  forehead,  upon  the  hands,  the  breast,  and 
the  back,  with  an  oil  purposely  consecrated  for  that  use,  and  putting 
a  clean  shirt  upon  him,  says,  Thou  art  as  dean  and  as  clear  from 
original  sin  as  this  shirt.  The  ceremonies  are  concluded  with  a  little 
cross  of  gold,  silver,  or  lead,  according  to  the  ability  of  the  parents, 
such  as  our  bishops  wear,  which  the  priest  hangs  about  the  child's 
neck,  with  so  strict  an  obligation  to  wear  it  all  his  lifetime  that,  if  it  be 
not  found  about  him  at  his  death,  they  would  not  bury  the  carcase,  but 
drag  it  to  the  common  dunghill.  The  priest  does  also  assign  the  child 
a  particular  saint,  whose  image  he  delivers  to  the  godfathers,  and 
charges  them  to  oblige  the  child,  when  he  is  come  to  years  of  discre- 
tion, to  have  a  particular  devotion  for  his  patron.  Then  he  embraces 
and  kisses  the  child  and  the  godfathers,  and  exhorts  them  to  love  one 
another,  but  above  all  things  that  they  take  heed  of  intermarrying.' — 
Ambassadors'1  Travels  into  Muscovy,  1636. 


Eight  days  afcer  baptism,  the  ceremony  of  shaving  the 
hair  (gradually  falling  into  disuse)  is  observed.  It  begins 
with  prayers,  after  which  the  priest  wipes  the  places  anointed 
in  the  ceremony  of  Unction  with  a  wet  sponge,  saying, 
'  Thou  art  baptised,  thou  art  sanctified,  thou  art  anointed 
with  oil,  thou  art  purified,  thou  art  washed,  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  &:c. 


'  The  little  Christian,  having  nothing  of  its  own  to  offer  to  its 
Maker  but  the  hair  of  its  head,  the  first  "  sacrifice"  is  made  by  shear- 
ing it.  In  ancient  times  servants  were  shorn  in  token  that  they  must 
fulfil  the  will  of  another  ;  thus  the  cutting  of  an  infant's  hair  indicates 
the  newly-made  Christian  should  henceforth  be  servant  to  the  will  of 
Christ,  from  whom  he  has  just  received  so  many  gifts  of  grace.  The 
hair  is  snipped  off  in  four  different  places  at  the  top  of  the  head  with  a 
small  pair  of  scissors,  thus  forming  a  cross,  the  priest  saying,  "  The 
servant  of  God,  Alexis,  is  shorn  in  the  name,"  &c.  The  godfather 
collects  the  morsels  of  down,  and  pinching  them  up  with  a  bit  of  wax 
from  his  taper,  throws  it  into  the  font ;  this  is  done  merely  to  insure 
that  the  hair  may,  with  the  water,  be  thrown  into  a  place  where  no 
impurity  can  reach  it,  and  no  foot  can  tread  on  it.  If  the  little  pellet 


4OD  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

sinks,  it  is  considered  a  sign  that  the  child  will  soon  die.' — H.    C. 
Romanoff. 

Forty  days  after  the  birth  of  a  child  its  mother  is  churched, 
and  the  infant  is  visibly  received  into  Christ's  Church  by  the 
reception  of  its  first  sacrament.  When  the  royal  gates  are 
opened  during  mass,  the  deacon  appears  with  the  chalice,  the 
infant  is  carried  to  the  steps,  and  the  priest,  coming  forwards, 
puts  a  drop  of  wine  into  its  mouth  with  a  spoon,  saying,  '  The 
servant  of  God,  Alexis,  communicates  in  the  name,'  &c. 

Children  are  almost  universally  objects  of  kindness  in 
Russia,  and  it  is  funny  to  listen  to  the  endless  affectionate 
diminutives  which  are  applied  to  them  :  lubesnoe,  my  dear  ; 
milinkoi,  my  little  dear  ;  dadushka,  my  little  grandpapa  ; 
matiushka,  little  mamma  ;  drushka,  little  friend  ;  golubshik, 
little  dove  ;  doushinka,  dear  little  soul.  The  commonest 
Russian  Christian  names  are  so  altered  by  their  diminutives 
as  to  be  unrecognisable.  Who  would  discover  Agrafena 
(Agrippina)  under  the  all-familiar  Grouska,  or  Antonina 
under  Antoshka,  Sophia  under  Sonka  or  Sonitchka,  Maria 
under  Masha,  Maruska,  Marusinka,  Mashinka  ;  or  Kon- 
stantin  (Constantine)  under  Kostia,  Hilaribn  under  Laria, 
and  Yakov  (James)  under  Yashinka  ?  The  vaccination  of 
children  is  compulsory  by  law,  but  is  often  evaded  by  a 
bribe  to  the  vaccinators  from  the  peasants,  who  believe  it 
to  be  'the  mark  of  the  Beast' 

There  is  no  such  ceremony  as  Confirmation  in  the 
Greco-Russian  Church,  but  the  child  continues  to  receive 
the  sacrament  in  one  kind  only  from  its  baptism,  twice  a 
year,  at  Easter  and  on  its  Saint's  Day,  till  it  is  seven  years 
old,  when  it  is  brought  to  the  Easter  confession  on  Good 
Friday,  being  asked  questions  by  the  priest,  to  wrhich  it 


MARRIAGES.  401 

answers,  '  I  have  sinned,'  or  '  I  have  not  sinned,'  as  it  may 
be,  after  which  absolution  is  given.  For  Government  ser- 
vants yearly  confession  and  communion  are  obligatory,  and 
no  marriage  can  be  performed  if  either  of  the  parties  have 
not  received  the  sacrament  during  the  past  year.  True  to 
the  rule  that  every  undertaking  should  begin  with  prayer  and 
end  with  thanksgiving,  the  Greco-Russian  Church  even  pro- 
vides an  especial  service  for  children  about  to  begin  or  re- 
sume their  studies,  asking  the  blessing  of  God  on  their  new 
and  perhaps  unknown  duties.  At  the  conclusion  even  of 
long  holidays,  or  when  a  new  governess  or  tutor  enters  a 
family,  this  service  (Moleben)  is  held  in  the  nearest  church. 
Endless  are  the  ceremonies  which  attend  a  Russian 
marriage.  First  the  numerous  '  assistants '  have  to  be  in- 
vited. In  the  middle  classes  these  are  the  Tysatsky,  or  wit- 
nesses to  the  register,  being  usually  the  most  important  re- 
lative of  the  pair  ;  the  ladies  of  honour  who  accompany  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  to  church  :  the  Schafers,  or  bridesmen, 
who  are  to  act  as  masters  of  the  ceremonies,  and  the  Boy- 
arin,  who  carries  the  sacred  pictures,  with  which  the  pair 
have  been  blessed,  to  church.  In  noble  families,  where 
the  wedding  generally  takes  place  in  the  evening,  the  bridal 
pair  usually  fast  (eating  nothing)  through  the  long  day  which 
precedes  it.  Amongst  the  peasants  the  hand  of  the  future 
bride  has  usually  been  sought  by  an  embassy 

'  They  always  start  at  night,  and  they  choose  a  byway,  so  as  not 
to  meet  anyone,  for  a  meeting  would  be  an  evil  omen.  Having  arrived 
at  the  house  of  the  bride's  father,  they  knock  at  the  window  and  ask  for 
admission.  Milosti prosim,  "  Do  us  the  favour,"  is  the  ordinary  reply. 
When  they  have  come  in  they  are  asked  to  sit  down,  but  they  refuse  ; 
"  We  have  not  come,"  they  say,  "  to  sit  down,  nor  to  feast,  but  to  ask 
in  marriage.  We  have  a  Dobry  Molodets,  a  brave  youth  ;  you  have 

D  D 


402  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

a  Krasnaya  Dyevitsa,  a  fair  maiden.  Might  not  the  two  be  brought 
together  ?  "  The  parents  of  the  bride  return  thanks  for  the  compli- 
ment, on  which  the  visitors  take  off  their  caps  and  sit  down  to  a  meal. 
When  it  is  over,  the  matchmakers  ask  for  a  final  answer.  The  parents 
at  first  plead  for  delay,  but,  if  they  see  no  objection  to  the  match, 
eventually  give  their  consent.  Upon  this  a  candle  is  lighted  and 
placed  before  the  holy  picture,  and  the  contracting  parties,  having 
crossed  themselves  and  uttered  a  prayer,  strike  hands  on  the  bargain, 
and  settle  the  matter.  After  the  Rukobitie  (rukd,  a  hand  ;  bit,  to 
beat)  the  girl  generally  begins  to  lament,  and  to  entreat  her  relatives  to 
break  off  the  match.' — Ralston,  'Songs  of  the  Russian  Peopled 

From  the  time  of  the  hand-striking  to  the  betrothal,  and 
from  the  betrothal  to  the  marriage,  the  girl  never  ceases  to 
'  lament  her  virginity,'  and  endless  are  the  poetical  forms  in 
which  such  lamentations  are  expressed.  They  come  to  a 
climax  in  the  wedding  songs  which  her  companions  sing 
around  the  bride,  when,  on  the  day  before  the  wedding,  she 
unplaits  her  kosd,  the  long  single  plait  which  is  the  pride  of  un- 
married girls,  and  distributes  amongst  her  young  friends  her 
kmsota^  or  '  maiden  beauty,'  the  ribbons  or  flowers  with 
which  she  was  wont  to  braid  her  hair. 

In  ancient  times  a  betrothed  maiden  always  used  to  send 
her  future  husband  a  whip,  curiously  wrought  by  herself,  in 
token  of  her  submission  to  him,  and  on  her  wedding  day  he 
gave  her  a  gentle  stroke  upon  the  shoulders,  to  show  that  he 
had  assumed  matrimonial  power. 

The  wedding  clothes  are  blessed  by  the  priest  in  a  short 
moleben.  The  respective  parents  of  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom give  them  a  solemn  blessing  before  they  leave  their 
homes,  waving  the  sacred  pictures  three  times  over  their 
heads,  and  in  the  case  of  the  bride  this  is  often  a  very  sad  cere- 
mony, as  after  it  she  takes  a  weeping  farewell  of  her  parents 
and  relations.  Then  the  lady  of  honour  (this  is  in  the  upper 


MARRIAGES.  403 

classes)  leads  the  bride  to  her  carriage,  and  the  Schafers  go 
before  to  warn  the  bridegroom  to  be  ready  to  receive  her  at 
the  church  door.  The  Boyarin,  carrying  the  picture,  pre- 
cedes the  pair  into  the  church,  and  two  wax  tapers  are  given 
them,  in  regard  to  which  it  is  believed  that  the  bearer  of  the 
taper  which  goes  out  first  will  be  the  first  to  die. 

The  office  of  marriage  is  divided  into  three  parts,  which 
were  once  celebrated  at  different  times,  but  now  together, 
(i)  The  office  of  espousals  (in  which  a  ring  of  gold  is  given 
by  the  man  to  the  woman,  and  by  the  woman  to  the  man, 
and  afterwards  exchanged  by  the  best  man).  (2)  The 
office  of  matrimonial  coronation,  in  which  the  bridal  pair 
are  crowned  with  crowns  of  filagree  silver  (vyentsui),  or  gar- 
lands, in  token  of  the  triumph  of  continence.  (3)  The 
dissolution  of  the  crowns,  which  formerly  took  place  upon 
the  eighth  day,  when  the  bride  was  conducted  to  the  bride- 
groom's house. 

'  These  ceremonies  are  all  so  exact  a  transcript  from  those  of  the 
Roman  nuptials,  that  they  seem  to  have  been  adopted  from  that 
practice.  The  espousals,  or  contract  before  marriage,  the  ceremony  of 
the  ring,  of  the  hymenaeal  torch,  the  garlands  of  flowers,  and  even  the 
distinction  of  times  lawful  or  unlawful  for  marriage,  are  all  mentioned 
as  circumstances  of  the  Roman  nuptials  by  historians,  or  alluded  to  by 
the  poets  and  other  authors.' — King. 

During  the  last  ceremony  wine  mingled  with  water  is 
given,  in  allusion  to  the  marriage  of  Cana.  Then  the  priest, 
followed  by  the  bridal  pair,  walks  three  times  round  the 
'  maloy '  upon  which  the  Cross  and  Gospels  are  placed,  an 
exhortation  is  pronounced,  the  pair  are  desired  to  kiss  each 
other  three  times,  and  the  benediction  concludes  the  service, 
after  which  the  newly  married  pair  go  together  to  kiss  all  the 
holy  pictures  on  the  iconastos. 


404  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

(  The  peasant  bridegroom  now  leads  his  bride  to  his  home.  On 
the  top  of  the  steps  leading  into  the  house  his  father  and  mother  meet 
the  young  couple,  and  bless  them  with  bread  and  salt,  while  some  of 
the  other  relatives  pour  over  them  barley  and  down,  and  give  them 
fresh  milk  to  drink — the  first  that  they  may  live  in  harmony  and 
happiness,  and  the  second  "  that  their  children  may  be  not  black,  but 
white."  The  young  people  enter  the  house  and  sit  down  on  a  bench, 
the  Princess  (now  no  longer  called  Knyazhna,  but  Knyaginya,  as  being 
a  married  woman)  hiding  her  face  from  sight  with  a  handkerchief. 
Then  comes  her  mother-in-law,  or  an  aunt,  takes  away  the  handker- 
chief, divides  her  loosely  hanging  tresses  into  two  parts,  and  sets  on 
her  head  the  Povoinik^  or  married  woman's  headdress.  After  that 
begins  the  Knyazhenetsky  Stol,  or  "  Princely  Table,"  the  wedding- 
breakfast  of  Russian  peasant  life,  which  is  celebrated  with  great  mirth 
and  spirit.  Towards  the  end  of  it  the  young  couple  retire  to  their 
chamber,  round  which,  in  old  times,  one  of  the  party,  called  a  Klyetnik, 
used  to  watch.' — Ralston^  'Songs  of  the  Russian  People.' 

It  is  a  law  of  the  Church  that  boys  must  not  marry  till 
they  are  eighteen,  or  girls  till  they  are  sixteen  ;  men  must  not 
marry  after  eighty,  or  women  after  sixty  ;  if  you  marry  twice 
you  have  two  years'  penance,  i.e.,  exclusion  from  Holy  Com- 
munion ;  if  you  marry  three  times  you  have  five  years' 
penance  ;  a  fourth  marriage  is  impossible. 

Almost  all  peasant  alliances  are  manages  de  convenance, 
though  the  brides  generally  have  nothing  but  their  trousseau. 
Often  the  bride  looks  forward  with  terror  to  the  family  into 
which  she  is  about  to  marry,  regarding  its  members  as 
piercing  thorns  and  stinging  nettles,  whilst  they  on  their 
part  regard  her  as  a  '  she  bear,'  '  a  sloven,'  &c.  In  one  of  their 
songs  a  girl  complains  : — 

'  They  are  making  me  marry  a  lout 

With  no  small  family. 
Oh  !  oh  !  oh  !  oh,  dear  me  ! 
With  a  father,  and  a  mother, 


PEASANT  BRIDES.  405 

And  four  brothers, 

And  sisters  three. 
Oh  !  oh  !  oh  !  oh,  dear  me  ! 
Says  my  father-in-law, 

"  Here  comes  a  bear  !  " 
Says  my  mother-in-law, 

"  Here  comes  a  slut  !  " 
My  sisters-in-law  cry, 

"  Here  comes  a  do-nothing  !  " 
My  brothers-in-law  exclaim, 

"  Here  comes  a  mischief-maker  ! " 
Oh  !  oh  !  oh  !  oh,  dear  me  ! ' i 

Many  of  the  songs  sung  in  dialogue  form  at  the  Khoro- 
vods  relate  to  the  sorrows  of  a  young  wife,  and  her  slavery 
to  her  parents-in-law.  Such  is  : — 

'THE   WIFE. 

4  Fain  would  I  be  sleeping,  dreaming : 
Heavy  lies  my  head  upon  the  pillow. 
Up  and  down  the  passage  goes  my  husband's  father, 
Angrily  about  it  he  keeps  pacing. 

«  CHORUS. 

'  Thumping,  scolding,  thumping,  scolding, 
Never  lets  his  daughter  sleep. 

'  FATHER-IN-LAW. 

'  Up,  vip,  up  !  thou  sloven  there  ! 
Up,  up,  up  !  thou  sluggard  there  ! 
Slovenly,  slatternly,  sluggardish  slut  ! 

'  THE   WIFE. 

'  Fain  would  I  be  sleeping,  dreaming  : 
Heavy  lies  my  head  upon  the  pillow. 
Up  and  down  the  passage  goes  my  husband's  mother, 
Angrily  about  it  she  keeps  pacing. 

1  Ralston. 


406  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


CHORUS. 


Thumping,  scolding,  thumping,  scolding, 
Never  lets  her  daughter  sleep. 


MOTHER-IN-LAW. 


'  Up,  up,  up  !  thou  sloven  there  ! 
Up,  up,  up  !  thou  sluggard  there  ! 
Slovenly,  slatternly,  sluggardish  slut  ! 

'  THE  WIFE. 

'  Fain  would  I  be  sleeping,  dreaming  : 
Heavy  lies  my  head  upon  the  pillow. 
Up  and  down  the  passage  steals  my  well-beloved  one, 
All  so  lightly,  softly,  keeps  he  whispering  : 

'  THE    LOVER. 

'  Sleep,  sleep,  sleep,  my  darling  one  ! 
Sleep,  sleep,  sleep,  my  precious  one  ! 
Driven  out,  thrown  away,  married  too  soon  !' 

Ralston^  '  Songs  of  the  Russian 

Except  in  the  provisions  for  '  painting,'  which  the  hus- 
bands were  expected  to  make,  few  of  the  customs  attending 
a  Russian  peasant  marriage  are  much  changed  since  the 
following  description  was  written  more  than  three  hundred 
years  ago  : — 

'  Their  matrimonie  is  nothing  solemnized,  but  rather  in  most  points 
abhominable,  and  as  neare  as  I  can  learne,  in  this  wise  following  : — 

'  First,  when  there  is  loue  between  the  parties,  the  man  sendeth 
unto  the  woman  a  small  chest  or  boxe,  wherein  is  a  whip,  needles,  thread, 
silke,  linnen  cloth,  sheares,  and  such  necessaries  as  she  shall  occupie 
when  she  is  a  wife,  and  perhaps  sendeth  therewithall  raisins,  figs,  or 
some  such  things,  giving  her  to  understand  that  if  she  doe  offend,  she 
must  be  beaten  with  the  whip  ;  and  by  the  needles,  thread,  cloth,  &c., 
that  she  should  apply  herselfe  diligently  to  sowe,  and  doe  such  things 
as  shee  could  best  doe  ;  and  by  the  raisins  or  fruites  he  meaneth  if  she 


MARRIAGE   CUSTOMS.  407 

doe  well,  noe  good  thing  shal  be  withdrawn  from  her,  nor  be  too  deare 
for  her  :  and  she  sendeth  unto  him  a  shirt,  handkerchief,  and  some 
such  things  of  her  owne  making.  And  now  to  the  effect. 

'  When  they  are  agreed,  and  the  day  of  marriage  appointed,  when 
they  shall  goe  towards  the  church,  the  bride  will  in  noe  wise  consent  to 
go  out  of  the  house,  but  resisteth  and  striveth  with  them  that  would  have 
her  out,  and  faineth  herself  to  weepe,  yet  in  the  end  two  women  get 
her  out,  and  lead  her  towards  the  church,  her  face  being  covered  close, 
because  of  her  dissimulati5,  that  it  should  not  be  openly  perceived  ;  fcr 
she  maketh  a  great  noise,  as  though  she  were  sobbing  and  weeping, 
until  she  come  at  the  church,  and  then  her  face  is  uncovered.  The 
man  cometh  after  among  other  of  his  friends,  and  they  cary  with  them 
to  the  church  a  great  pot  with  wine  or  mead  ;  then  the  priest  coupleth 
them  together  much  after  our  order,  one  promising  to  love  and  serve 
the  other  during  their  lives  together,  &c.,  which  being  done,  they 
begin  to  drinke  ;  and  first  the  woman  drinketh  to  the  man,  and  when 
he  hath  drunk  he  letteth  the  cuppe  fall  to  the  ground,  hasting  imme 
diately  to  tread  upon  it,  and  so  doth  she,  and  whether  of  them  tread 
first  upon  it  must  have  the  victorie  and  be  master  at  all  times  after, 
which  commonly  happeneth  to  the  man,  for  he  is  readiest  to  set  his 
foot  on  it,  because  he  letteth  it  fall  himselfe  ;  then  they  goe  home 
againe,  the  woman's  face  being  uncovered.  The  boyes  in  the  streetes 
crie  out  and  make  a  noyse  in  the  meane  time,  with  very  dishonest 
worcles. 

'  When  they  come  home,  the  wife  is  set  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
table,  and  the  husband  next  unto  her  ;  they  fall  to  drinking  till  the} 
bee  all  drunke  ;  they  perchance  have  a  minstrell  or  two,  and  two 
naked  men,  which  led  her  from  the  church,  dannce  naked  a  long  time 
before  all  the  companie.  When  they  are  wearie  of  drinking,  the  bridt 
and  the  bridegroom  get  them  to  bed,  for  it  is  in  the  evening  alwayes 
when  any  of  them  are  married  ;  and  when  they  are  going  to  bedde,  the 
bridegroom  putteth  certain  money  both  golde  and  silver,  if  he  have  it, 
into  one  of  his  boots,  and  then  sitteth  down  in  the  chamber  crossing 
his  legges,  and  then  the  bride  must  plucke  off  one  of  his  boots,  which 
she  will ;  and  if  she  happen  on  the  boote  wherein  the  money  is,  she 
hath  not  onely  the  money  for  her  labor,  but  is  also  at  such  choyse,  as 
she  need  not  ever  from  that  day  to  put  off  his  boots,  but  if  she  misse 
the  boot  where  the  money  is,  she  doth  not  onely  lose  the  money,  but 
is  also  bound  from  that  day  forwards  to  pull  off  his  boots  continually. 

'  Then  they  continue  in  drinking  and  making  good  cheere  three  daies 
following,  being  accompanied  with  certaine  of  their  friends,  and  during 


4o8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  same  three  dales  he  is  called  a  duke,  and  shee  a  dutches,  although 
they  be  very  poore  persons,  and  this  is  as  much  as  I  have  learned  of 
their  matrimony  :  but  one  common  rule  is  amongst  them,  if  the  woman 
be  not  beaten  with  the  whip  once  a  weeke,  she  will  not  be  good,  and 
therefore  they  looke  for  it  orderly,  and  the  women  say,  that  if  their 
husbands  did  not  beate  them,  they  should  not  love  them. 

'  They  use  to  marry  very  young  ;  their  sonnes  at  sixteen  and  eighteen 
yeares  olde,  and  the  daughters  at  twelve  or  thirteen  yeares  or  yonger  ; 
they  use  to  keepe  their  wives  very  closely,  I  meane  those  that  be  of 
any  reputation,  so  that  a  man  shall  not  see  one  of  them  but  at  a  chance, 
when  she  goeth  to  church  at  Christmas  or  at  Easter,  or  els  going  to 
visite  some  of  her  friends. 

'  The  husband  is  bound  to  finde  the  wife  colours  to  paynt  her 
withall,  for  they  use  ordinarily  to  paynt  themselves  :  it  is  such  a  com- 
mon practise  among  them,  that  it  is  counted  for  no  shame  :  they  grease 
their  faces  with  such  colours,  that  a  man  may  discern  them  hanging  on 
their  faces  almost  a  flight  shoote  off :  I  cannot  so  well  liken  them  as  to 
a  miller's  wife,  for  they  looke  as  if  they  were  beaten  about  the  face 
with  a  bagge  of  meale,  but  their  eyebrowes  they  colour  as  blacke  as 
ieat. ' — Anthonie  Jenkinson,  1557. 

'  Scratch  the  Russian  and  you  will  find  the  Turk  under- 
neath,' was  a  saying  of  the  Prince  de  Ligne,  and  those  who 
have  written  of  Russian  peasant  life  never  fail  to  take  as  their 
theme  the  seclusion  of  the  wives,  and  the  monotony  of  the 
women's  existence,  '  constantly  dreaming  of  what  others  do.' 
The  inferiority  with  which  Russian  women  of  the  lower 
orders  are  regarded  is  shown  in  nothing  more  than  in  some 
of  the  Russian  proverbs  most  in  use,  such  as  '  The  wits  of  a 
woman  are  like  the.  wildness  of  beasts,'  '  The  hair  is  long, 
but  the  mind  is  short,'  '  As  the  horse  by  a  bit,  so  must  a 
woman  be  governed  by  threats/  '  Towns  built  by  women  do 
not  last,'  'Walls  built  by  women  do  not  rise  high.' 

'  Toute  sa  vie  la  femme  russe  est  en  tutelle  :  d'abord  sous  la 
tutelle  de  son  pere  ou  d'un  autre  membre  de  la  famille,  et  plus  tarcl 
sous  celle  du  mari.  On  lui  apprend  a  obeir  a  1'homme  comme 


THE  DOMOSTROL  409 

1'esclave  obeit  au  maitre  ;  a  se  regarder  comme  la  propriete,  la  "  chose  " 
de  1'homme  ;  a  ne  pas  permettre  qu'on  1'appelle  maitresse  (gospoja),  a 
ne  voir  dans  son  mari  qu'un  maitre.  Une  paysanne  russe  qui  n'est 
pas  de  temps  en  temps  rossee,  se  plaint  d'etre  negligee  de  son  epoux. 
Le  proverbe  dit :  "  Je  t'aime  comme  mon  ame  et  je  te  bats  comme  ma 
pelisse." '—  Victor  Tissot. 

The  Domostroi,  or  '  Organisation  of  Domestic  Life,'  the 
curious  manual  of  household  economy,  written  by  the  monk 
Silvester,  the  early  minister  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  says,  '  The 
wife  should  be  obedient  in  all  things,  and  for  her  faults 
should  be  severely  whipped,  though  not  in  anger.  Her  duty 
is  to  keep  the  house;  to  look  after  the  food  and  clothing  ;  to 
see  to  the  comfort  of  her  husband;  and  to  bear  children, 
though  not  to  educate  them.' l  Severity  towards  children  is 
inculcated,  and  to  play  with  their  children  is  in  parents  '  a 
sin,  a  temptation  of  the  devil.'  The  wife  is  bound  to  stay 
at  home  and  to  be  acquainted  with  nothing  but  household 
work.  To  all  questions  on  outside  matters  she  is  to 
answer  that  she  *  does  not  know.' 

In  Russia,  in  all  public  and  private  legal  transactions,  the 
custom  is  to  count  by  souls.  In  other  parts  of  Europe  they  count 
by  heads,  but,  like  Mahommedans,  the  Russians  assume  that 
only  men,  and  not  women,  have  or  are  souls.  Apropos  of 
this  there  are  two  well-known  popular  proverbs :  '  There  is 
only  one  soul  to  every  ten  women  ; '  and  '  A  woman  has  no 
soul,  she  is  nothing  but  vapour  and  smoke.' 

Whatever  the  other  trials  of  their  married  life  may  be, 
there  is  no  country  in  which  the  women  are  expected  to  do 
less  work  than  in  Russia.  As  showing  that  there  are 
occasions  on  which  the  wife  also  has  the  upper  hand,  a 

1  See  the  Domostrdi,  edited  by  M.  Takovlef.    S.  Petersburg,  1867. 


410  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

humorous  little  Russian  story  represents  in  a  dialogue  the 
contradictoriness  of  a  Russian  peasant  wife,  and  the 
patience  of  her  husband  : — 

Peasant.   Dear  wife,  we  will  sow  this  barley. 
Wife.   Husband,  it  is  not  barley,  it  is  buckwheat. 
Peasant.   So  be  it,  I  will  not  dispute  it. 

Peasant.   See,  wife,  how  well  the  barley  has  come  up  ! 
Wife.   It  is  not  barley,  it  is  buckwheat. 
Peasant.   So  be  it,  I  will  not  dispute  it. 

Peasant.  The  barley  is  ripe,  we  will  cut  it ! 

Wife.   It  is  not  barley,  it  is  buckwheat. 

Peasant.   Buckwheat  let  it  be,  I  will  not  dispute  it. 

Peasant.  The  barley  is  threshed  now — how  fine  it  is  \ 

Wife.   It  is  not  barley,  it  is  buckwheat. 

Peasant.   Buckwheat  let  it  be,  I  will  not  dispute  it. 

Peasant.  What  beautiful  barley-malt!     We  will  brew  beer  with  it. 
Wife.   It  is  not  malt  of  barley,  but  of  buckwheat. 
Peasant.   Buckwheat-malt  let  it  be,  I  will  not  dispute  it. 

Peasant.   What  delicious  beer  from  our  barley-malt  ! 

Wife.   It  was  not  barley-malt,  but  buckwheat-malt. 

Peasant.  So  be  it,  I  will  not  dispute  it ;  but  I  never  heard  of 
buckwheat-malt,  or  that  beer  was  brewed  from  it. — Haxthausen,  '  The 
Russian  Empire. ' 

Very  early  marriages  are  almost  universal  : — • 

'Fathers  of  families  have  generally  the  greatest  interest  in  the 
marriage  of  their  sons.  It  is.  not  the  custom  for  married  sons  to  estab- 
lish a  separate  household  so  long  as  the  head  of  the  family  is  living  ; 
every  marriage,  therefore,  brings  gain  to  the  latter,  who  acquires  a  new- 
share  in  the  land,  besides  the  services  of  a  new  daughter-in-law. 

'  Early  marriages  presenting  so  many  advantages,  celibacy  is 
almost  unknown  amongst  the  common  people.  Until  recent  times, 
boys  were  married  so  young,  that,  according  to  Wichelhausen,  in  his 
description  of  Moscow,  vigorous  women  of  four-and-twenty  might 


THE  POOR  MAN'S  LOT.  411 

frequently  be  seen  carrying  in  their  arms  their  betrothed  husbands  of 
six  years  of  age  !  The  Government,  however,  has  now  prohibited  the 
marriage  of  boys  before  their  eighteenth  year.' — Haxthausen. 

In  the  Domostroi,  Silvester  describes  the  tricks  which 
were  often  practised  in  his  time  when  it  came  to  choosing  a 
wife  :  the  stool  concealed  under  the  maiden's  dress  to 
make  her  look  taller,  the  substitution  of  her  prettier  sister  or 
maid  upon  the  few  occasions  on  which  the  bridegroom  was 
allowed  to  see  her  before  marriage. 

When  the  peasant  household  is  established,  monotonous 
melancholy  characterises  it.  Existence  is  a  dull  routine  of 
the  different  duties  brought  by  the  change  of  the  seasons  : 
the  only  variety  is  brought  by  the  fasts  and  festivals  of  the 
Church,  even  these  are  monotonous  ;  and  over  the  brief 
summer  always  hangs  the  shadow  of  the  coming  winter, 
with  its  confinement  and  darkness. 

'  The  bird  of  God  does  not  know— either  anxiety  or  labour  ; — it  does 
not  laboriously  weave— a  nest  to  last ; — through  the  long  nights  it 
sleeps  upon  a  bough  : — when  the  beautiful  sun  arises, — the  bird,  recog- 
nising the  voice  of  God, — starts  up  and  sings. 

'After  the  gay  spring-tide—comes  the  glowing  summer, — the  slow- 
coming  autumn  brings-  mist  and  rain  : — to  men  trouble,  to  men  weari- 
ness ;—  the  bird  flies  away  till  the  spring — into  distant  countries,  — into 
the  warm  lands,  beyond  the  blue  sea.' — Pouchkine. 

1  The  Poor  Man's  Lot,'  one  of  the  best-known  poems  of 
Koltsof  (1809-1842),  the  poet  of  the  people,  dwells  on  the 
dreariness  of  Russian  peasant-life,  especially  in  the  days  of 
serfs,  when  they  could  be  moved  at  will  from  one  landlord 
to  another. 

'  White  bread,  amongst  strangers,— is  bitter  ;— it  is  as  an  undiluted 
drink — which  intoxicates. — Free  speech  — is  fettered  :-  ardent  send- 


4i2  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

ments — die  without  an  echo. — If  joy  sometimes— escapes  from  the  soul, 
—  it  is  poisoned  at  once — by  malignant  sarcasms. — The  bright  and 
clear  day — clouds  over  ; — the  world  veils  itself— under  a  cloud  of  sad- 
ness.— You  listen,  you  look — with  a  smile;— and  in  your  heart  you 
curse — your  sad  fate.' 


Russian  peasants  are  far  less  apt  to  acknowledge  them- 
selves ill,  especially  to  lie  in  bed,  than  those  of  other 
countries.  They  will  seldom  send  for  a  doctor,  but,  on  the 
rare  occasions  on  which  they  take  physic,  they  always  cross 
themselves  and  ask  God's  blessing  upon  it 

The  medical  adviser  of  the  peasantry  is  generally  a 
baboushka  (literally,  grandmother),  or  wise  woman,  who 
generally  treats  all  ailments  as  the  result  of  witchcraft,  and 
endeavours  to  cure  them  by  charms,  which  are  often  of  the 
most  extraordinary  nature.  But  when  it  is  perceived,  usually 
by  the  instinct  of  the  patient,  that  an  illness  must  be  fatal, 
Extreme  Unction  is  resorted  to.  If  the  patient  is  still  able  to 
go  out,  this  is  performed  after  mass,  in  the  body  of  the 
church,  the  invalid  being  placed  in  a  chair,  with  his  face 
toward  the  royal  gates,  and  is  a  strangely  solemn  service.  But 
naturally  Extreme  Unction  generally  takes  place  in  a  house. 
In  all  cases  the  service  concludes  by  the  patient  asking  for  the 
blessing  and  personal  forgiveness  of  the  priest  and  of  all 
present,  infinitely  touching  to  the  friends  of  the  dying  person. 
The  Service  for  Confession  and  Communion  of  the  Sick  is 
nearly  the  same  as  our  own.  As  the  last  moment  ap- 
proaches, the  friends  lay  a  saint's  picture  at  the  back  of  the 
pillow,  and  stick  a  lighted  taper  at  the  head  of  the  bed. 
1  The  poor  lay  the  dying  on  the  bench  "under  the  Saints," 
or  picture  in  the  corner.  When  a  child  is  expiring,  the 
father  or  mother  takes  it  gently  on  a  pillow,  and  holds  it, 


DEATHS.  413 

crossing  and  blessing  it  repeatedly  all  the  time,  under  the 
picture,  while  it  sighs  its  innocent  breath  away.'  l 

When  a  death  has  occurred,  the  corpse  is  fully  dressed 
in  its  best  clothes  (in  the  case  of  persons  in  the  Imperial 
service,  in  full  uniform),  and  laid  out  in  the  centre  of  the 
largest  room  in  the  house,  on  a  table  or  catafalque,  hung 
with  white,  and  surrounded  with  burning  candles.  It  is 
never  left  alone.  Day  and  night,  for  the  three  days  which 
precede  the  funeral,  a  *  Reader '  reads  the  Psalms  aloud, 
over  and  over  again,  being  generally  a  peasant  whose  age 
unfits  him  for  any  other  employment.  A  priest  also  comes 
to  sing  a  requiem,  in  which  the  most  remarkable  feature  is 
the  '  Everlasting  Remembrance.'  After  prayers  for  the  soul 
of  the  deceased  and  for  the  forgiveness  of  all  his  sins, 
voluntary  and  involuntary,  he  says  :  '  With  the  Saints  let  the 
soul  of  thy  deceased  servant,  O  Lord,  rest  in  peace,  and 
keep  him  in  Everlasting  Remembrance  ; '  and  the  choir 
take  up  the  last  words,  and  sing  them  several  times.  In 
accordance  with  James  i.  27,  all  the  acquaintance  of  the 
house  visit  it  in  mourning,  and  even  passers-by,  who  are  un- 
known to  the  family,  come  in  to  pay  their  respects  to  the 
dead  and  pray  for  his  soul.  Alms  are  also  given  to  beggars, 
with  injunctions  to  pray  for  the  soul. 

A  letter  is  sent  to  all  friends  at  a  distance  :  '  Alexis 
Alexandrovitch '  (the  deceased)  '  desires  his  compliments, 
and  wishes  you  may  live  long  ' — which  is,  in  fact,  announcing 
that  he  has  ceased  to  live.  The  sorrowing  answers  always 
contain  the  expression — '  May  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be 
his!' 

Amongst  the  peasants  in  some  parts  of  Russia  there  are 

1  Romanoff. 


4I4  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

professional  mourners,  who  are  sent  for  to  pronounce  long 
poetical  lamentations  over  the  corpse.  Great  care  is  also 
taken  to  provide  the  dead  person  with  what  he  requires  on 
his  long  journey — a  handkerchief,  with  which  to  wipe  his 
face,  and  a  coin,  which  in  ancient  times  was  intended  to  pay 
the  ferryman  to  the  other  world.  Parings  of  nails  are  also 
often  supplied  to  the  corpse,  as  by  their  means  his  soul  will 
be  able  to  clamber  up  the  steep  sides  of  the  hill  leading  to 
heaven.1  It  is  necessary  also  that  the  funeral  should  take 
place  before  sunset,  as  afterwards,  with  no  sun  to  guide  it, 
the  wandering  spirit  would  be  certain  to  lose  its  way. 

'  Parmi  les  paysans  russes,  1'usage  s'est  encore  conserve  de  parler  an 
mort  avant  de  se  separer  pour  toujours  de  ses  restes.  D'ou  vient,  lui 
dit-on,  que  tu  nous  as  abandonnes  ?  etais-tu  done  malheureux  stir  cette 
terre  ?  ta  femme  n'etait-elle  pas  belle  et  bonne  ?  pourquoi  done  1'as  tu 
quittee  ?  Le  mort  ne  repond  rien,  mais  le  prix  de  1'existence  est  ainsi 
proclame  en  presence  de  ceux  qui  le  conservent  encore.' — Afadame  de' 
Stacl. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral  all  the  friends,  neighbours, 
and  acquaintance  of  the  deceased  collect  in  the  house  of 
mourning,  where  a  short  service  takes  place,  after  which  the 
family  take  leave  of  the  dead.  Then,  with  cross  and  candles, 
and  a  procession,  bareheaded  even  in  the  severest  winter, 
the  corpse  is  carried  to  church.  Everyone  who  passes  un- 
covers and  recites  a  prayer  for  the  dead.  As  the  corpse  is 
borne  along,  the  trisagion  is  always  sung.  On  reaching  the 
church,  the  coffin  is  placed  before  the  royal  gates,  and  tapers 
are  given  to  all  the  bystanders,  which  are  extinguished  after 
the  reading  of  the  Gospel.  Then  a  prayer — -'the  Confession 
of  the  Faithful  Soul ' — (sometimes  falsely  described  as  a 

1  See  Ralston,  from  Afanasief. 


FUNERALS.  415 

passport  for  the  dead)  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  corpse. 
It  is  the  prayer  of  S.  Theodosius  of  Kieff,  for  absolution 
from  sin,  which  was  made  compulsory  by  S.  Vladimir  (988), 
who  was  himself  buried  with  it  in  his  hands.  Then  a 
'  coronet,'  printed  usually  with  a  text  in  gold,  is  placed  on 
the  brow  of  the  dead,  and  the  bystanders  are  exhorted  to 
draw  near  and  give  the  last  kiss  to  the  departed,  in  such 
words  as  these  : — 

'  Come,  my  brethren,  let  us  give  our  last  kiss,  our  last  farewell  to 
our  deceased  brother,  giving  thanks  to  God.  He  hath  now  forsaken 
hb  kindred,  and  approacheth  the  grave,  no  longer  mindful  of  vanity  or 
the  cares  of  the  world.  Where  are  now  his  kindred  and  his  friends  ? 
Behold,  we  are  now  separated.  Let  us  pray  to  the  Lord  to  give  him 
rest. 

'  Oh,  my  brethren,  what  a  separation  ;  what  lamentation  and  wail- 
ing accompany  this  sad  hour  !  Approach,  embrace  him  who  lately 
was  one  of  yourselves.  He  is  delivered  up  to  the  grave  ;  he  is  covered 
with  a  stone  ;  he  sojourneth  in  darkness,  and  is  buried  among  the 
dead.  Now  he  is  separated  from  his  kindred  and  friends,  therefore 
let  us  pray  to  the  Lord  to  give  him  rest. 

'  Every  sinful  connection  with  life  and  vanity  is  broken.  The 
spirit  hath  forsaken  her  mansion  :  the  clay  is  disfigured,  the  vessel  is 
broken  :  we  carry  a  speechless,  motionless,  senseless  corpse  to  the 
grave  !  Let  us  entreat  the  Lord  to  grant  him  eternal  rest. 

'  What  is  our  life  ?  A  flower,  a  vapour,  the  dew  of  the  morning. 
Approach  then,  let  us  contemplate  the  grave  with  attention  !  Where 
is  the  form  of  grace,  where  is  youth,  where  is  the  brightness  of  the 
eye,  where  the  beauty  of  colouring  ?  All—  all  are  withered  like  grass  ; 
all  are  vanished.  Come  then,  and  with  tears  let  us  fall  down  before 
Christ,'  &c. — King. 

The  coffin  is  now  closed  and  carried  to  the  grave,  and, 
as  it  is  lowered,  the  priest  throws  a  handful  of  earth  upon  it, 
with  the  words  :  '  The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness 
thereof,  and  the  wide  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein.' 
The  lamp  or  wine-glass  used  for  Extreme  Unction  is  then 


4i6  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

thrown  into  the  grave,  with  anything  that  remains  in  it,  and 
some  ashes  from  the  incense  used,  in  remembrance  of  the 
spices  and  ointments  employed  for  the  buried  Saviour.  After 
the  blessing,  every  member  of  the  family  throws  a  handful  of 
earth  into  the  grave.  There  are  many  places  in  Russia 
where  a  little  ladder  is  set  up  by  the  side  of  the  grave  when 
the  coffin  is  lowered  into  it,  to  assist  the  soul  in  its  ascent  to 
heaven. 

Meanwhile  preparations  have  been  made  for  the  funeral 
feast  at  the  house,  for  the  guests  in  the  principal  chamber, 
for  the  beggars  (those  beggars  who  have  regularly  received 
alms  from  the  family)  in  the  outhouse.  The  latter  are 
treated  as  kindly- welcomed  guests,  and  are  waited  on  by  the 
family.  The  feast  is  interspersed  with  prayers,  especially  of 
*  Everlasting  Remembrance,'  which  is  repeated  in  the  com- 
pany dinner  afterwards  amid  much  weeping  of  the  mourners. 
The  funeral  feast  was  originally  called  trizna  :  it  was  to  such 
a  feast  that  Olga  summoned  the  Drevlians  upon  the  murder 
of  her  husband  Igor,  to  call  upon  them  to  avenge  his 
murder. 

But  even  now  the  melancholy  services  are  by  no  means 
over. 

'  People  whose  circumstances  permit  it  have  evening-matins  and 
mass  performed  every  day  for  forty  days  after  the  death  has  taken  place, 
and  distribute  trifling  alms  to  the  beggars  each  time.  Besides  this, 
special  requiems  are  sung  on  the  ninth,  twentieth,  and  fortieth  days 
over  the  grave,  and  the  priests  are  generally  entertained  as  on  the  day 
of  the  funeral.  At  any  rate,  they  are  invited  to  the  fortieth  day.  On 
the  two  first  occasions  a  "  lunch  "  (which  consists  of  as  good  a  dinner 
as  you  could  wish  to  eat,  only  without  soup)  is  prepared  for  them. 
On  the  fortieth  day  the  funeral  is  almost  acted  over  again. 

Immediately  on  return  from  church  on  all  these  occasions,  and 
on  the  name's  day  and  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  deceased,  the 


RECOLLECTION  DA  VS.  417 

family  eat  a  spoonful  of  what  is  called  koutih  ;  it  is  boiled  rice  and 
raisins,  sweetened  with  honey.  They  take  it  to  church  in  a  sugar- 
basin  or  butter-dish,,  and  place  it,  with  a  taper  stuck  to  it,  on  the  little 
black  maloy,  before  which  requiems  are  sung.  This  is  repeated  at 
every  requiem,  and  is  done  "  in  remembrance  "  of  the  deceased.  The 
custom  is  thus  explained  by  Bishop  Benjamin  :  "  The  rice  (or  as  in 
ancient  times  ordained,  wheat-grain),  typifies  the  deceased  Christian, 
who  will  hereafter  rise  again  like  the  buried  seed  (John  xii.  24).  The 
honey  implies  that  on  resurrection  a  sweet  and  delightful  existence 
awaits  us  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  raisins,  dried  up  as  they 
now  are,  will,  on  coming  up,  be  beautiful  and  lovely,  as  the  glorified 
Christian  will  be  (i  Cor.  xv.  43,  44)."  ' — H.  C.  Romanoff. 

The  Monday  week  after  Easter  Day  (called  Pomina- 
telnui  ponyedelnik,  or  '  Recollection  Monday')  and  Saturday 
after  Ascension  Day  are  devoted  by  the  Russians  to  the 
memory  of  the  dead  and  of  their  parents  in  particular,  and 
nearly  answer  to  All  Souls'  Day  in  France.  On  this  occasion 
alms  are  given  profusely  to  the  beggars,  with  injunctions  to 
pray  for  the  dead  by  name.  On  such  days  the  beggars  ask 
alms  '  for  your  parents'  sakes,'  and  receive  eggs  or  cakes 
from  the  poor  who  have  no  money  to  give.  The  scene  in 
the  cemeteries  at  such  times  is  a  most  strange  one,  as  the 
people  fling  themselves  on  the  graves,  with  sobs,  shrieks, 
howls,  and  outcries  of  endearment  to  those  lying  below, 
shedding  torrents  of  tears,  which,  however,  are  dried  as 
soon  as  the  performance  is  over.  A  requiem  is  said  at  the  < 
different  graves  by  a  priest,  after  which  the  poorer  classes 
remain  to  '  commemorate  their  departed  by  a  little  banquet, 
laying  a  tablecloth  on  the  grave  and  covering  it  with  gaily- 
painted  eggs,  cakes,  curd-tarts,  and  vodki,  which  they  drink 
to  the  memory  of  their  lost  one,  with  "  May  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  be  his  !  "  In  the  midst  of  the  loaf  which  forms  the 
centre  of  the  feast,  a  lighted  taper  is  always  stuck. 

E  E 


4i8  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  A  Flemish  pencil  might  produce  the  strangest  picture  in  the  world 
by  a  faithful  representation  of  this  oddly-furnished  banquet,  particularly 
as  the  taste  of  the  purveyors  varies  considerably.  Everyone  has  his 
loaf  of  a  different  form  from  the  rest  ;  one  has  added  a  dish  of  rice  and 
plums,  another  a  pot  of  honey,  and  a  third  some  other  dish,  according 
to  his  means.  On  every  loaf  a  little  book  is  laid.  In  one  I  found 
written  on  one  page,  "  This  book  belongs  to  Anne  Timofeyevna  " 
(Anne,  Timotheus'  daughter),  and  on  the  next  page,  "  This  book  is  in- 
scribed to  the  memory  of  my  dear  father,  Fedor  Paulovitch,  and  my 
good  mother,  Elizabeth  Petrovna."  On  a  third  stood  the  names  of 
Gregor,  Sergei,  and  Maria.  They  call  these  books  "  Pominatelnui 
knigi,'  or  Books  of  Remembrance. 

'  After  the  usual  mass,  the  priests  approach  the  strangely-loaded 
tables  and  sing  prayers  for  the  dead,  swinging  censers  all  the  while. 
They  turn  6ver  the  leaves  of  the  before-mentioned  books,  and  intro- 
duce the  names  found  there  in  the  prayer.' — Kohl. 

On  the  Saturday  nearest  to  October  26,  another  requiem 
has  been  observed  in  Russia  for  centuries  in  memory  of 
those  who  fell  at  the  Battle  of  the  Kulikovo  in  1380,  when 
the  courage  of  Prince  Dmitri  and  the  prayers  of  S.  Sergius 
gained  a  signal  victory  over  the  Tartars.  This  festival  is 
called  Dmitriefskaya  Subbota,  Dmitri's  Saturday. 

'  If  at  that  time  a  thaw  follows  the  first  frosts  of  winter,  the  people 
say,  Roditeli  otdokhnut,  '  the  Fathers  enjoy  repose,'  for  they  hold  that 
the  dead  suffer  from  cold,  as  well  as  from  hunger,  in  the  grave. 

4  On  the  day  of  the  commemoration  the  peasants  attend  a  church 
service,  and  afterwards  they  go  out  to  the  graves  of  their  friends  and 
there  institute  a  feast,  lauding,  amidst  many  tears,  the  virtues  and 
good  qualities  of  the  dead,  and  then  drinking  to  their  eternal  rest.  So 
important  a  feature  in  the  ceremony  is  this  drinking,  that  it  has  given 
rise  to  a  proverb,  "  One  begins  for  the  repose  of  the  dead,  and  one  goes 
on  for  one's  own  pleasure."  It  is  customary  on  such  occasions  to  hand 
over  a  portion  of  the  articles  provided  for  the  feast  to  the  officiating 
ecclesiastics  and  their  assistants,  a  fact  to  which  allusion  is  made  in 
the  popular  saying,  "It  is  not  always  Dmitri's  Saturday  with  priestly 
children."' — Ralston,  '•Songs  of  the  Russian  People.'1 


FASTS.  419 

In  many  country  villages  the  custonxof '  feeding  the  dead  ' 
still  prevails.  This  is  to  prevent  ghosts  from  returning. 
People  place  an  abundant  meal  on  the  graves  of  their  dead, 
and  leave  it  there,  begging  them  to  be  satisfied  with  that  : 
dogs  eat  it  up  at  night. 

Through  a  great  part  of  the  year  the  Russian  peasant  is 
prevented  by  the  fasts  of  the  Church  from  accepting  the 
advantages  which  the  seasons,  the  soil,  and  his  labour 
permit  him.  He  must  fast  entirely  during  the  seven  weeks 
of  Lent,  for  two  or  three  weeks  in  June,  from  the  beginning 
of  November  till  Christmas,  and  on  all  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays  throughout  the  year. 


'  They  be  great  offerers  of  candles,  and  sometimes  of  money,  which 
wee  call  in  England,  souls  pense,  with  more  ceremonies  than  I  am 
able  to  declare.  They  have  foure  Lents  in  the  yeare,  whereof  our 
Lent  is  the  greatest.  Looke,  as  we  do  begin  on  the  Wednesday,  so 
they  doe  on  the  Monday  before  :  and  the  weeke  before  that  they  call 
the  Butter  weeke  :  and  in  that  weeke  they  eate  nothing  but  butter  and 
milke.  Howbeit,  I  beleeue  there  bee  in  no  other  count -ey  the  like 
people  for  drunkennesse.  The  next  Lent  is  called  S.  Peter's  Lent, 
and  beginneth  alwayes  the  Munday  next  after  Trinitie  Sunday,  and 
endeth  on  S.  Peter's  euen.  If  they  should  breake  that  fast,  their 
beliefe  is  that  they  should  not  come  in  at  heauen  gates.  The  third 
Lent  beginneth  fifteene  dayes  before  the  later  Ladey  day,  and  endeth 
on  our  Lady  Eeuen.  The  fourth  Lent  beginneth  on  S.  Martin's  day, 
and  endeth  on  Christmas  Eeuen  :  which  Lent  is  fasted  for  S.  Philip, 
S.  Peter,  S.  Nicholas,  and  S.  Clement.  For  they  foure  be  the 
principall  and  greatest  saints  in  that  countrey.' — Richard  Chancektcr, 
1553- 

'  If  the  church  would  direct  her  maternal  solicitude  to  the  peasant's 
drinking,  and  leave  him  to  eat  what  hs  pleases,  she  might  exercise 
a  beneficial  influence  on  his  material  and  moral  welfare.' — D.  Mac- 
kenzie Wallace,  '  Russia.'1 

If  travellers  give  poor  men  a  part   of  their  dinner  in 

E  E  2 


420  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Lent,  they  will  refuse  it  shuddering,  and  snatching  the  for- 
bidden food  out  of  their  children's  hands,  will  fling  it  to 
their  dogs  ;  though  the  moment  '  Christ  has  risen '  has 
passed  from  the  lips  of  the  archbishop,  they  are  ready  to 
make  up  in  drunkenness  and  gluttony,  in  proportion  as  they 
have  fasted  before.  Even  in  the  wickedest  Russian  peasant, 
the  superstition  regarding  fasting  is  kept  alive.  Two  men 
once  murdered  a  traveller  for  the  sake  of  his  provision,  but 
when  the  deed  was  done,  they  found  it  was  only  meat,  and 
they  threw  it  away,  because  it  was  Lent. 

Fortunately  the  great  fast  occurs  just  when  the  frozen 
provisions  of  the  lower  orders  are  exhausted,  and,  whilst  it 
lasts,  they  have  time  to  procure,  kill,  and  store  their  fresh 
supplies.  The  night  before  Easter  every  market  and  shop 
is  crowded,  and  every  peasant's  arms  are  full. 

In  the  middle  of  Lent  many  of  the  peasants  celebrate  a 
little  festival  in  honour  of  spring.  About  the  same  time 
occurs  the  curious  custom  called  the  'Christening  of  the 
Cuckoos,'  which,  coupled  with  the  frequent  representation 
of  the  soul  as  a  bird,  probably  has  reference  to  children 
who  die  unbaptised,  and  are  therefore  supposed  to  be 
perpetually  flying  wailing  through  the  air.  Little  figures  of 
a  bird,  made  of  grass  or  flowers,  are  hung  with  crosses  and 
suspended  to  a  bough,  and  girls  meet  and  kiss  beneath 
them,  becoming  by  this  ceremony  '  gossips '  for  life,  as  if 
at  a  christening  of  a  child  they  had  become  united  by  the 
tie  of  co-godmothership.1  When  Palm  Sunday  arrives, 
those  who  sleep  so  late  as  to  be  prevented  attending  early 
mass,  are  flogged  with  palm-branches,  a  discipline  in  which 
boys  and  girls  are  so  eager,  that  they  lie  awake  half  the 

1  Ralston,  Songs  of  the  Russian  People. 


EASTER.  421 

night  thinking  of  it,  and  as  soon  as  day  breaks,  begin  to 
run  about  in  bands  in  search  of  the  sleepers,  whom  they 
punish,  whilst  singing  : — 

'  Yerba  biot  ! 
Biot  da  floss  ; 
Ye  ne  bin ; 
Verba  biot  ! ' l 

This  custom  prevails  throughout  Russia,  and  the  imperial 
children  exercise  the  privilege  as  eagerly  as  those  of  lower 
rank.2 

On  the  Saturday  before  Easter  all  the  pomp  of  divine 
service — the  lights,  bells,  singing,  &c. — is  laid  aside.  The 
people,  who  are  half-starved  by  fasting,  having  often  had 
literally  nothing  to  eat  for  three  days,  sink  down  in  utter 
exhaustion  from  the  endless  kneeling,  or  wearisomeness  of 
the  long  readings.  The  churches  are  darkened,  and  no 
priest  shows  himself  upon  Saturday  evening  before  mid- 
night. It  is  characteristic  of  the  simple  and  touching  faith 
of  the  Russian  people  that,  throughout  this  time  of  utter 
exhaustion,  the  reading  of  the  Gospel  never  ceases.  One 
peasant  after  another,  if  he  can  only  just  read,  will  light  his 
taper,  and,  taking  his  place  at  the  desk  with  the  open  Bible, 
will  continue  to  spell  out  the  words  till  some  one  else  comes 
to  release  him.3  Certainly  the  Easter  ceremony  to  which 
exhausted  nature  must  most  look  forward  in  Russia,  is 
the  benediction  of  the  food,  which,  especially  in  Moscow, 
is  one  of  the  most  curious  sights  a  stranger  can  witness. 
The  Easter  Resurrection  has  just  been  announced  to  the 
people,  when — 

1  The  rod  strikes  and  strikes  to  weeping.     I  strike  thee  not :  the  rod  strikes. 
»  Kohl.  3  Ibid. 


422  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

1  Amid  all  the  tumult,  a  procession  headed  by  the  priests,  all  bear- 
ing tapers  and  torches,  passes  round  the  church,  and  then  the  last 
ceremony,  the  blessing  of  the  food,  takes  place  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  spectacle  in  the  church  is  most  extraordinary.  The 
people  range  all  the  dishes  in  long  rows  through  the  whole  church,  leaving 
space  enough  between  the  rows  for  the  priests  to  pass,  till  the  increasing 
numbers  compel  them  to  form  the  lines  without  the  church,  and  even 
a  good  way  round.  The  huge  oddly-shaped  loaves,  called  Kulitshe, 
the  towers  of  white  cheese,  into  which  I  know  not  how  many  coloured 
leaves  of  spice  are  interwoven,  the  former  decorated  with  flowers,  the 
latter  bearing  a  burning  wax-taper  on  its  summit  ;  the  heaps  of  red 
coloured  eggs,  lumps  of  sugar,  pots  of  honey,  plates  of  preserved  fruit, 
all  these  painted,  illuminated,  many-coloured,  strange -looking  eatables, 
and  collected  in  such  quantities,  have  so  curious  an  effect  that  one  can- 
not help  supposing  the  important  ceremonies  are  to  end  at  last  in 
child's  play ;  one  cannot  help  looking  into  the  face  of  the  reverend 
goodies  and  white-bearded  fathers,  to  see  whether  they  are  not  masked 
children  who  will  at  last  throw  off  their  disguise,  and  in  the  midst  of 
all  their  flowers  and  fruits,  end  with  a  dance  in  honour  of  Flora  and 
Pomona.  It  is  not  necessary  to  observe  them  long,  however,  to  be- 
come convinced  that  these  good  child -like  people  are  quite  serious 
in  their  proceedings.  As  the  priest  advances,  sprinkling  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  pronouncing  his  blessing,  while  his  attendant  keeps  up 
a  constant  chant,  the  people  press  closer  and  closer,  crossing  them- 
selves and  keeping  a  constant  watch  that  their  flowers  and  food  get 
their  due  share  of  the  purifying  water.  "  Batiushka,"  is  heard  here 
and  there,  "  sdes  moi  pashka"  (Father,  dear,  my  Easter  dish  has 
got-  none).  Breathless  with  haste,  others  come  running  up,  and  as 
they  untie  the  cloth  containing  their  dishes,  supplicate  a  moment's 
delay  from  the  priest,  who  is  generally  good-natured  enough  to 
comply. 

'  To  be  thoroughly  national,  two  dishes  are  indispensable  at  an 
Easter  breakfast,  pashka  and  kulitsh.  Pashka  is  made  of  curds  beaten 
hard,  and  served  in  a  pyramidal  form  ;  the  kulitsh  is  a  thick  round 
cylindrically  shaped  white  loaf,  sometimes  made  with  a  multitude  of 
little  kulitshi  sticking  upon  it,  like  young  oysters  on  the  back  of  an  old 
one,  with  plums,  consecrated  palm-twigs,  &c. ,  which  latter  always  pro- 
ject a  little  from  the  crust.  Both  must  be  decorated  with  flowers  and 
wax-lights ;  and  if,  in  addition  to  these,  a  hard  egg  and  a  dram  be 
swallowed,  the  common  Easter  breakfast  of  a  Russian  of  the  lower 
class  has  been  taken,  and  you  may  go  to  sleep  for  some  hours  -with  a 


THE  RUSSIAN  FRIDAY.  423 

good  conscience  wherewith  to  begin  the  enjoyment  of  the  Easter  fes- 
tivities.'— Kohl. 

On  Easter  Monday,  paschal  eggs  are  distributed  and  all 
business  is  laid  aside. 

Between  Easter  and  Ascension  Day  there  are  few 
Russian  peasants  who  will  refuse  hospitality  to  any  way- 
farer, for  at  that  time  Christ  and  his  apostles  are  supposed 
to  be  wandering,  and  angels  might  be  repulsed  unawares. 
Our  Lord  himself  is  believed  to  wander  sometimes  disguised 
as  a  beggar. 

'  In  the  story  of  "  Christ's  Brother,"  a  young  man — whose  father, 
on  his  deathbed,  had  charged  him  not  to  forget  the  poor— goes  to 
church  on  Easter  Day,  having  provided  himself  with  red  eggs  to  give 
to  the  beggars  with  whom  he  should  exchange  the  paschal  greeting. 
After  exhausting  his  stock  of  presents,  he  finds  that  there  remains  one 
beggar  of  miserable  appearance  to  whom  he  has  nothing  to  offer,  so  he 
takes  him  home  to  dinner.  After  the  meal,  the  beggar  exchanges 
crosses  with  his  host,  who  thus  becomes  his  "brother  of  the  cross," 
giving  him  a  cross  which  blazes  like  fire,  and  invites  him  to  pay  him  a 
visit  on  the  following  Tuesday.  To  an  inquiry  about  the  way,  he 
replies,  "You  have  only  to  go  along  yonder  path,  and  say,  'Grant 
Thy  blessing,  O  Lord  !'  and  you  will  come  to  where  I  am."  .  .  .  The 
young  man  did  as  he  was  told,  and  at  the  end  of  his  journey  finds  the 
aged  mendicant  who  had  adopted  him  as  his  brother,  and  recognises 
him  as  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself.' — Ralston  (from  Afanasief], 
*  Russian  Folk-  Tales. ' 

Friday  is  a  wasted  day  in  most  Russian  villages. 

*  The  Russian  name  for  that  day,  Pyatnitsa,  has  no  such  mytho- 
logical significance  as  have  our  own  Friday  or  the  French  Vendredi  : 
but  the  day  was  undoubtedly  consecrated  by  the  old  Slavonians  to  some 
goddess  akin  to  Venus  or  Freyja,  and  her  worship  in  ancient  times 
accounts  for  the  superstitions  now  connected  with  the  name  of  Friday. 
According  to  Afanasief,  the  Carinthian  name  for  the  day,  Sibne 
dany  is  a  clear  proof  that  it  was  once  holy  to  Siva,  the  Lithuanian 


424  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Seewa,  the  Slavonic  goddess  answering  to  Ceres.  In  Christian  times 
the  personality  of  the  goddess  (by  whatever  name  she  may  have  been 
known)  to  whom  Friday  was  consecrated,  became  merged  in  that  of 
S.  Prascovia,  and  she  is  now  frequently  addressed  by  the  compound 
name  of  "  Mother  Pyatnitsa- Prascovia."  As  she  is  supposed  to  wander 
about  the  houses  of  the  peasants  on  her  holy  days,  and  to  be  offended 
at  certain  kinds  of  work  going  on,  they  are  (or  at  least  they  used  to  be) 
frequently  suspended  on  Fridays.  It  is  a  sin,  says  a  time-honoured 
tradition,  for  a  woman  to  sew,  or  spin,  or  weave,  or  buck  linen  on  a 
Friday,  and  similarly  for  a  man  to  plait  bast  shoes,  twine  cord,  and 
the  like.  Spinning  and  weaving  are  especially  obnoxious  to  "  Mother 
Friday,"  for  the  dust  and  refuse  thus  produced  injure  her  eyes.  When 
this  takes  place,  she  revenges  herself  by  plagues  of  sore  eyes,  whitlows, 
and  agnails.  In  some  places  the  villagers  go  to  bed  early  on  Friday 
evening,  believing  that  S.  Pyatinka  will  punish  all  whom  she  finds 
awake  when  she  roams  through  the  cottage.  In  others  they  sweep 
their  floors  every  Thursday  evening,  that  she  may  not  be  annoyed  by 
dust  or  the  like  when  she  comes  next  day.  Sometimes,  however,  she 
has  been  seen,  says  the  popular  voice,  "  all  pricked  with  the  needles 
and  pierced  by  the  spindles  "  of  the  careless  women  who  sewed  and 
spun  on  the  day  they  ought  to  have  kept  holy  in  her  honour.  As  for 
any  work  begun  on  a  Friday,  it  is  sure  to  go  wrong. 

'  There  was  once  a  certain  woman  who  did  not  pay  due  reverence 
to  Mother  Friday,  but  set  to  work  on  a  distaff-ful  of  flax,  combing  and 
whirling  it.  She  span  away  till  dinner  time,  then  suddenly  sleep  fell 
on  her  — such  a  deep  sleep  !  And  when  she  had  gone  to  sleep,  sud- 
denly the  door  opened  and  in  came  Mother  Friday,  before  the  eyes  of 
all  who  were  there,  clad  in  a  white  dress,  and  in  such  a  rage  !  And  she 
went  straight  to  the  woman  who  had  been  spinning,  scooped  up  from 
the  floor  a  handful  of  the  dust  that  had  fallen  out  of  the  flax,  and  began 
stuffing  and  stuffing  that  woman's  eyes  full  of  it  !  And  when  she  had 
stuffed  them  full,  she  went  off  in  a  rage  — disappeared  without  saying  a 
word. 

'  When  the  woman  awoke,  she  began  squalling  at  the  top  of  her 
voice  about  her  eyes,  but  couldn't  tell  what  was  the  matter  with  them. 
The  other  women,  who  had  been  terribly  frightened,  began  to  cry 
out : 

'  "  Oh,  you  wretch,  you  !  you've  brought  a  terrible  punishment  on 
yourself  from  Mother  Friday." 

'  And  they  told  her  all  that  had  taken  place.  She  listened  to  it  all, 
and  then  began  imploring  : 


BIELO-OZERO.  425 

'  "  Mother  Friday,  forgive  me  !  pardon  me,  the  guilty  one  !  I'll 
offer  thee  a  taper,  and  I'll  never  let  friend  or  foe  dishonour  thee, 
Mother  !  " 

'  Well,  what  do  you  think  ?  '  During  the  night,  back  came  Mother 
Friday  and  took  the  dust  out  of  that  woman's  eyes,  so  that  she  was 
able  to  get  about  again.  It's  a  great  sin  to  dishonour  Mother  Friday 
—combing  and  spinning  flax,  forsooth  ! '— Ralston  (from  Afanasief\ 
'  Riissian  Folk-  Tales. ' 


The  student  of  Russian  history  will  not  be  content  with 
visiting  the  group  of  monasteries  near  Moscow,  but  the 
immense  tracts  of  country  to  be  traversed  make  further 
historic  pilgrimages  of  great  rarity.  *  Les  distances,  voila 
le  fleau  de  la  Russie,'  was  a  saying  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas. 

The  monastery  of  greatest  interest  besides  those  already 
noticed  is  that  of  S.  Cyril,  at  Bielo-ozero,  '  the  White  Lake,' 
to  which  the  nearest  point  of  railway  is  Vologda.  It  is  still 
a  monastery  of  the  first  class,  or  rather  two  monasteries 
in  one,  the  Greater,  and  the  (Ivanofsky  or)  Lesser.  Two 
strong  walls,  with  lofty  towers,  surround  the  monasteries, 
the  inner  being  the  Lesser,  while  the  Greater,  which  of 
itself  has  nine  stone  churches,  occupies  the  space  between 
the  first  and  second  wall.  No  religious  institution  in  the 
empire  surpasses  this  in  the  richness  of  its  vestments.  It 
has  also  an  armoury,  and  on  its  outer  towers  fifty  cannon 
are  mounted. 

This  is  the  desolate  spot  to  which  so  many  illustrious  per- 
sons have  been  exiled,  including  Nikon,  and  Martha  Roma- 
noff, mother  of  the  Tsar  Michael.  Bielo-ozero  appears  in 
every  period  of  Russian  history,  from  the  time  of  its  founda- 
tion by  S.  Cyril  of  Simonof,  the  companion  and  friend  of 


426  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

S.  Sergius,  and  it  became  the  parent  house  of  the  island 
monastery  of  Solovetsky  (most  easily  reached  from  Arch- 
angel), where  Nikon  lived  as  a  monk. 

'  Thirsting  after  a  retreat  of  absolute  quiet,  Cyril  secluded  himself 
on  the  silent  shores  of  the  White  Lake  ;  but  such  a  light  as  his  could 
not  remain  hid  under  a  bushel  ;  his  monastery  grew  and  flourished, 
even  like  that  of  S.  Sergius,  and  became  an  object  of  deepest  reverence 
to  the  Tsars,  especially  to  Ivan  the  Terrible.  In  its  turn  it  became  the 
seed-bed  of  other  houses,  which  sprang  up  around  it,  both  near  and 
far  off.  From  the  white  waters  of  its  lake,  S.  Sabbatius  carried  the 
germ  of  monasticism  to  the  grey  waves  of  the  Northern  Ocean  ;  there, 
in  the  uninhabited  islands  of  the  White  Sea,  his  fellow-labourer  Ger- 
manus,  and  his  successor  S.  Zosimus,  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Solovetsky  Lavra,  which  has  stood  as  a  glorious  boundary  of  our 
country  to  the  North,  and  illuminated  all  the  coasts  of  the  sea  with  the 
light  of  Christianity.' — Mouravieff. 

Besides  Valdai,  Valamo,  and  Yurieff,  near  Novogorod, 
which  have  been  already  mentioned,  the  other  monasteries 
of  greatest  importance  are  the  Pecherskoe  (catacomb) 
monastery,  near  Pskoff,  in  the  north,  and  the  all-famous 
Pecherskoe  monastery  of  Kieff,  in  the  south. 

In  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great  there  were  five  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  monasteries  and  convents  in  Russia,  three  of 
which— the  Abramief  at  Rostoff,  the  Vydubitsky  at  Kieff, 
and  the  Peryn  at  Novogorod— were  founded  at  the  end  of 
the  tenth  century. 


427 


CHAPTER   IX. 
KIEFF. 

RAILWAY  travelling  on  most  of  the  great  Russian  lines 
is  by  no  means  as  luxurious  as  is  usually  imagined. 
Nothing  can  look  more  comfortable  than  the  little  com- 
partments of  the  sleeping-cars,  but  the  motion  of  the  long 
unwieldy  carriages  is  terrific  :  a  gentle  wavy  movement 
like  that  of  a  caterpillar,  which  in  a  few  hours  often  pro- 
duces the  same  results  as  a  boat  in  a  heavy  swell  at  sea. 
Besides,  everything  depends  upon  your  companion,  who  is 
of  much  more  consequence  than  in  the  mixed  society  of 
a  large  carriage  in  other  countries.  '  I  guess,  stranger,  that 
you  will  not  want  to  have  the  window  open  this  journey, 
because  I  will  not  allow  it ;  I  am  in  my  right,  and  I  will 
not  allow  it,'  said  an  American,  on  becoming  the  writer's 
companion  for  a  journey  of  fifty-two  hours,  through  which 
time  of  suffocating  misery  no  entreaties  did  induce  him  to 
allow  it.  Then  there  are  no  non-smoking  (met  cheruske] 
compartments,  and  all  the  carriages  stink — no  other  word 
expresses  it— so  horribly  of  stale  smoke  that  lying  down  upon 
the  reeking  cushions  is  an  indescribable  penance,  while 
even  Russian  ladies,  if  such  are  your  companions,  seldom 
fail  to  smoke  cigarette  after  cigarette  of  the  strongest 


428  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

tobacco  ;  and  all  night,  as  well  as  all  day,  this  smoking  con- 
tinues. The  pillows  with  which  the  Russians  always  travel 
are  almost  indispensable  on  these  long  journeys,  and  are 
very  useful  at  the  smaller  hotels,  where  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  pillow-cases,  sheets,  or  towels  will  be  supplied 
with  the  rooms. 

Quite  a  new  phase  of  country  is  entered  upon  by  those 
who  travel  south  from  Moscow.  Hitherto  all  has  been 
forest,  henceforth  there  is  scarcely  a  tree.  We  enter  now  upon 
the  vast  dreary  plains  which  are  only  a  prolongation  of  the 
Asiatic  plateaux.  Before,  the  desolation  has  seemed  intense, 
now  it  is  entire.  As  Sterne  remarks,  '  Nothing  puts  a  writer 
of  travels  in  such  difficulty  as  sending  him  over  an  extensive 
plain.'  To  journey  many  leagues  and  say  nothing  might 
seem  like  inattention,  but  to  write  observations  of  no 
moment  is  less  pardonable  than  any  omission.  Vast,  flat, 
and  monotonous,  such  is  now  the  character  of  every- 
thing. 

'  Quoiqu'on  me  conduisit  avec  une  grande  rapidite,  il  me  semblait 
que  je  n'avancais  pas,  tant  la  contree  etait  monotone.  Des  plaines  de 
sable,  quelques  forets  de  bouleaux  et  des  villages  a  grande  distance  les 
uns  des  autres,  composes  de  maisons  de  bois,  toutes  tailless  sur  le 
meme  modele,  voila  les  seuls  objets  qui  s'offrissaient  a  mes  regards. 
J'eprouvais  cette  sorte  de  cauchemar  qui  saisit  quelquefois  la  nuit, 
quand  on  croit  marcher  toujours  et  n'avancer  jamais.  II  me  semblait 
que  ce  pays  etait  1'image  de  1'espace  infini  et  qu'il  fallait  1'eternite  pour 
le  traverser.'-  -Madame  de  StacL 

Russian  authors,  however,  can  almost  always  make  one 
discover  a  kind  of  charm  in  their  native  scenery  : — 

'  He  was  on  his  way,  and  his  tarantass  rolled  rapidly  along  the  by- 
road. A  great  drought  had  prevailed  for  fifteen  days ;  a  slight  mist 
spread  a  creamy  tint  through  the  atmosphere  and  enveloped  the  distant 


TULA   AND  KURSK.  429 

forests,  they  seemed  to  send  forth  a  smell  of  burning  ;  little  dark  clouds 
marked  their  undecided  forms  upon  a  clear  blue  sky  ;  a  strong  wind 
blew  in  dry  gusts  which  did  not  refresh  the  air.  With  his  head  resting 
against  the  cushions  of  the  carriage,  and  his  arms  crossed  upon  his 
breast,  Lavretsky  let  his  glance  wander  over  the  ploughed  fields  which 
unfolded  themselves  before  him  like  a  fan,  upon  the  cytisus  which 
seemed  to  fly,  upon  the  crows  and  magpies  which  followed  the  equipage 
as  it  passed  with  an  eye  stupidly  suspicious,  and  upon  the  long  ditches 
overgrown  with  southernwood,  absinthe,  and  the  wild  service-tree. 
He  regarded  the  horizon,  this  solitude  of  the  steppes,  so  unbroken,  so 
fresh,  so  fertile  ;  this  verdure,  these  long  uplands,  these  hollows  over- 
grown with  bushes  of  dwarf  oak,  these  grey  villages,  these  scraggy 
birch  trees  ;  till  all  this  picture  of  Russian  nature,  which  he  had  not 
seen  for  so  long,  awakened  feelings  at  once  sweet  and  sad  in  his  heart.' 
—  Tourgueneff,  '  A  Retreat  of  Gentlefolks. ' 

There  are  said  to  be  usually  fifteen  inhabitants  to  every 
square  kilometre  in  European  Russia  ;  to  the  same  pro- 
portion of  land  in  England  there  would  be  a  hundred  and 
fourteen.  At  long  intervals  we  see  a  town,  but  there  are  only 
four  towns  in  Russia,  except  S.  Petersburg  and  Moscow, 
which  have  as  many  as  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  first  important  place  of  those  we  pass  through  is  Tula, 
which  is  a  zavbd,  or  manufacturing  town,  where  small 
objects  in  iron  and  steel  are  sold  at  the  station.  The  great 
river  Don,  which  is  1,300  miles  in  length,  rises  near  this  in 
Lake  Ivanozero,  whence  the  name  of  Don  Ivanovitch,  which 
occurs  so  often  in  Russian  folk  lore. 

At  Kursk,  the  cathedral  in  the  monastery  contains  a 
famous  icon,  said  to  have  been  found  in  a  wood  in  1295, 
which  has  become  a  great  object  of  pilgrimage.  Near  the 
towns  the  foregrounds  of  the  scenery  are  often  pretty,  even 
idyllic,  the  backgrounds  flat,  wild,  and  boundless. 

Turning  westwards  from  Kursk  (the  direct  line  goes 
through  South  Russia  to  the  Crimea),  the  railway  to  Kieff 


43o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

soon  passes  out  of  Great  into  Little  Russia,  and  enters 
upon  the  steppes  of  the  Ukraine,  the  home  of  the  semi- 
nomadic  Cossacks. 

'  The  steppe  countries  of  European  Russia  form  a  connected  extent 
of  land  of  453,600  square  miles.  On  this  enormous  space  there  are 
only  thin  strips  of  wood  upon  the  banks  of  some  of  the  streams,  such  as 
the  Bug,  Dnieper,  Volga,  Akhtuba,  &c. ,  constituting  certainly  not 
more  than  the  two-hundredth  part  of  the  whole  territory.  To  the 
traveller  coming  from  the  north  the  steppe  becomes  gradually  percep- 
tible by  the  forests  appearing  more  and  more  in  isolated  patches,  and 
the  grass  plains  growing  larger  in  extent.  All  at  once  the  wood  ceases 
entirely,  not  a  bush  is  to  be  seen,  and  the  steppe  stretches  out  in  its 
immensity  before  us.  On  the  margins  of  the  steppe  the  roots  and 
stumps  of  trees  are  occasionally  found  in  the  ground,  showing  that  in 
former  times  the  forest  extended  further,  but  in  a  short  time  these 
cease,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  trace  of  forest  having  ever  existed. 
On  the  skirts  of  the  forest  also  it  is  evident  that  it  does  not  of  itself 
advance  towards  the  steppe  ;  the  seed  never  forms  new  bushes.  This 
does  not  arise  from  the  soil  not  receiving  the  seed  from  the  wood,  or 
from  the  latter  not  striking  root,  but  because  the  trees  are  displaced  by 
the  grass  vegetation. 

'  The  whole  plant-world  presents  a  struggle  for  the  dominion  of  the 
soil  :  thus  the  cryptogams  are  displaced  by  the  grasses,  the  latter  by 
the  heath  ;  bushes  give  place  to  flowers,  one  kind  of  tree  to  another, 
and  in  turn  the  trees,  the  giants  of  their  empire,  to  the  grasses,  the 
dwarfs.  In  the  steppes  near  the  Caucasus,  on  the  Kuban  and  Terek, 
the  vegetation  of  annual  plants,  which  here  cover  the  ground  twice  a 
year,  is  of  almost  incredible  luxuriance.  The  weeds  grow  ten,  twenty, 
thirty  feet  in  height,  imitating  and  obstructing  the  growth  of  trees, 
being  used  as  fuel  by  the  people.  The  thick  grass  vegetation,  five  to 
seven  feet  high,  on  the  margins  of  all  the  forests  north  of  the  chalk 
steppes,  has  the  same  effect.  Every  spring  this  entire  mass  of  plants 
springs  up  with  such  vigour,  and  spreads  with  such  rapidity,  that  any 
seed  of  a  tree  falling  amongst  it  takes  years  to  attain  even  the  height  of 
the  lowest  grasses,  and  is  choked  in  its  first  growth.' — Haxthansen, 
'  The  Russian  Empire. ' 

In  winter  these  steppes  are  traversed  by  vast  flocks  of 
wolves,  the  terror  of  sledge  travellers. 


THE    UKRAINE.  431 

'  The  wolf-chase  on  the  steppes  is  quite  peculiar  in  its  way.  A 
thicket  in  which  wolves  are  supposed  to  lie  concealed  is  surrounded  by 
nets.  In  front  of  these  nets  the  hunters  station  themselves  with  their 
fowling-pieces,  and  behind  them  stand  the  peasants  with  spears  and 
pitchforks.  The  drivers  and  dogs  then  enter  the  thicket  to  scare  the 
wolves  into  the  plain.  Those  wolves  that  escape  the  tubes  of  the 
hunters  entangle  themselves  in  the  nets,  when  they  are  speared  and 
pitchforked  by  the  peasants,  and  sometimes  taken  alive.  The  genuine 
Cossack  of  the  steppe,  however,  uses  neither  musket  nor  pitchfork,  but 
mounted  on  his  trusty  steed  depends  only  on  his  well-plaited  nagaika 
or  whip,  with  which  he  rarely  fails  to  cut  down  a  wolf,  as  with  a  sabre.' 
—Kohl. 

Little  Russia  is  still  always  called  the  Ukraine  by  its 
natives,  who  do  not  like  to  acknowledge  it  to  be  smaller 
than  Great  Russia.  Here  is  the  grain-growing  district  of  the 
empire.  From  a  religious  sentiment  the  reaping  is  usually 
begun  by  a  priest.  Much  of  the  wheat  is  shipped  to 
England.  The  country  is  principally  in  the  hands  of  the 
great  landowners  :  Count  Orloff  Davidoff  alone  possesses 
half  a  million  of  acres.  With  the  character  of  the  country 
that  of  the  people  completely  changes. 

'  On  oublie  trop  qu'il  y  a  deux  Russies  :  a  Saint-Petersbourg,  tine 
Russie  officielle,  feodale,  aristocratique  et  bureaucratique,  semi-alle- 
mande  et  semi-europeenne  ;  et  dans  les  immenses  plaines  du  reste  de 
Pempire,  une  Russie  vetue  de  peau  de  mouton,  immobile  et  pensive 
comme  PAsie,  son  a'ieule,  muette  et  immuable  dans  son  fatalisme 
apathique  et  sa  raide  orthodoxie,  ficlele  a  ses  traditions,  franchement 
russe,  et  subissant  avec  une  resignation  de  bete  le  joug  que  font  peser  sur 
elle  ceux  a  qui  appartiennent  toutes  les  richesses,  tous  les  privileges,  tons 
les  pouvoirs  et  tous  les  droits.' — Victor  Tissot,  '  Russes  et  AllemandsS 

Originally,  the  Cossacks  were  divided  into  the  two  great 
branches  of  Cossacks  of  the  Don  and  of  the  Dnieper  ;  the 
former  of  these  became  incorporated  with  Russia  as  early  as 
the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  but  the  latter  were  nominally 


432  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

subject  to  Poland.  Both  divisions,  from  their  habit  of 
kidnapping  Tartar  women,  had  a  strong  admixture  of 
Tartar  blood.1  In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
an  attempt  of  the  King  of  Poland  to  enforce  popery  upon 
the  Cossacks,  and  to  make  their  prince  a  hetman,  delegate 
of  his  power,  roused  the  indignation  of  the  people,  and  they 
began  a  war  with  Poland  which  continued  to  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  with  terrible  reprisals  on  both  sides. 
Being  'left  orphans,  and  seeing  their  country  left  like 
a  widow  after  the  loss  of  a  mighty  husband,  they  held  out 
their  hands  to  one  another  as  brothers.' 2  They  first  sought 
refuge  amid  the  wooded  islands  of  the  Dnieper,  whence 
the  name  of  the  rebel  community — Zaporoghian  Ssieche  ; 
Zaporoghian  meaning  '  beyond  the  rapids,' 3  Ssieche  mean- 
ing a  spot  in  a  forest  where  trees  have  been  cut  down,  and 
a  slaughter  in  the  thick  of  a  fight,  a  name  inseparable  from 
deeds  of  valour  and  cruelty.4  The  Zaporoghian  Cossacks 
lived  by  the  sword  and  had  no  fear  of  death.  No  woman 
was  permitted  to  dwell  in  their  island  colonies,  and  in 
memory  of  their  fallen  no  tears  were  shed,  but  their  exploits 
were  sung  in  triumph.  Their  bravest  member  was  elected  as 
their  chief,  and  bore  the  title  of  ataman  (quite  'different  to 
the  hetman,  or  elective  prince  of  Little  Russia).5  They 
were  subdivided  into  koorens  (from  kooren,  to  smoke), 
communities  whose  fires  smoked  and  cooked  in  common,  and 
each  of  these  had  a  koorenno'i  ataman,  subordinate  to  the 
ataman  of  the  Ssieche,  and  who  could  be  deposed  at  will, 
except  during  absence  in  war,  when  the  koschevdi  ataman 
(chief  ataman)  had  dictatorial  power.6 

1  See  Wallace.  -  Gogol. 

3  Porog  signifies  a  rapid  fall,  in  Russian.  *  To'stoy. 

5  Count  Platoff  was  not  a  hetman,  but  an  ataman.  6  Tolstoy. 


THE  COSSACKS.  433 

After  they  had  established  their  freedom,  the  Zaporoghians 
united  themselves  with  the  rest  of  the  Cossacks,  as  the 
whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ukraine  were  henceforth 
called,  and  in  1654,  all  Little  Russia  submitted  to  the  Tsar 
Alexis.  But,  to  the  Russian,  the  very  name  of  Cossack  has 
continued  to  be  emblematic  of  freedom,  and  the  Cossacks  have 
always  been  ready  to  fight  on  the  first  notice  of  their  country 
or  their  faith  being  in  danger.  In  later  times  the  Ssieche 
became  merely  encampments  of  Cossacks,  ready  to  answer 
to  the  call  of  the  hetman  of  Little  Russia.  Peter  the  Great 
treated  the  Cossacks  with  great  severity,  especially  after  their 
hetman  Mazeppa  joined  Charles  XII.  The  helmanship  itself 
was  abolished  by  Catherine  II.,  and  in  her  reign  the  last 
Zaporoghians,  under  their  ataman  NekrassorT,  emigrated  to 
Turkey,  and  then,  as  the  Ssieche  finally  ceased  to  exist,  the 
romance  of  the  Cossacks  vanished. 

At  the  present  day  the  Cossacks  are  a  standing  militia, 
living  on  their  own  lands  in  the  south-east  of  Russia.  They 
are  bound  to  maintain  a  fixed  number  of  regiments  at  their 
own  cost,  and  are  governed  by  their  respective  atamans — of 
the  Don,  the  Black  Sea,  the  Caucasus,  Astrakhan,  Oren- 
burg, the  Ural,  Siberia,  and  the  trans-Baikalian  Cossacks, 
who  guard  the  Russian  frontier  towards  China. 

The  dress  of  a  Cossack,  called  cossakin,  is  a  closely- 
fitting  coat,  fastened  by  hooks  down  the  middle  of  the  breast. 
Strong,  handsome,  and  active,  the  Cossacks  are  capable 
of  great  endurance  of  fatigue  and  privation.  They  have  a 
peculiar  power  of  self-adaptation,  and  are  perhaps  the  most 
valuable  troops  the  Tsar  possesses.  They  are  even  more 
fond  of  spirituous  liquors  than  other  Russians.  Gogol,  the 
especial  author  of  the  Ukraine,  a  writer  who  could  cause  his 

F  F 


434  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

readers  to  laugh  when  he  laughed  and  weep  when  he  wept, 
makes  a  Cossack  say — 

'  Go,  go,  and  have  everything  in  the  house  put  upon  the  table.  We 
do  not  want  pastry,  honey-cakes,  poppy-seed  cakes,  and  all  those  sweet 
nonsenses.  Bring  us  a  whole  roasted  sheep,  give  us  a  buck,  let  us  have 
some  mead  that  is  twenty  years  old,  and  above  all  things,  plenty  of 
brandy  ;  and  let  it  not  be  the  brandy  with  raisins  and  various  spices, 
but  plain,  clean,  corn  brandy,  that  hisses  and  simmers.' — Tarass  Boolba. 

In  former  days,  when  a  young  Cossack  was  about  to 
leave  the  paternal  dwelling,  all  the  family  would  sit  down  in 
silence  for  a  few  minutes  before  the  departure;  then  they  rose 
at  once,  made  tha  sign  of  the  cross,  and  the  eldest  person 
present  invoked  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon  the  traveller. 

'  "  Now,  sons,  all  is  ready,  don't  waste  time,"  said  Boolba.  "  Now, 
we  must  all,  like  Christians,  sit  down  before  the  journey." 

'  Everyone  sat  down,  including  even  the  servants,  who  had  stood 
respectfully  by  the  door. 

'  "  Now,  mother,  bless  thy  children  !  "  said  Boolba.  "  Pray  God 
that  they  may  be  brave  in  war,  that  they  preserve  their  honour  and 
hold  fast  the  faith  of  Christ  ;  otherwise  it  were  better  that  nothing 
remained  of  them  in  the  world.  Go  to  your  mother,  children  ;  the 
prayer  of  a  mother  preserves  one  by  sea  and  land." 

'  The  tender  mother  embraced  them,  took  two  small  holy  images, 
and  sobbing,  hung  them  round  their  necks. 

'  "  May  the  Holy  Virgin  preserve  you  ;  do  not  forget  your  mother, 
my  sons  :  send  me  word  of  your  welfare."  She  could  say  no  more. 

'"Let  us  begone  now,  my  children  ! 'v  said  Boolba.' — Gogol, 
'  Tarass  Boolba.' 

The  boundaries  of  communal  lands  amongst  the 
Cossacks  used  to  be  remembered  by  the  whole  population 
walking  along  the  boundary  decided  on,  and  taking  the  boys 
of  the  districts  on  each  side  and  whipping  them  soundly 
upon  it,  that  they  might  be  sure  to  remember  the  scene  of 


THE  KOURGANS.  435 

their  punishment  as  long  as  they  lived.  But  if  the  boys, 
growing  up  to  manhood,  forgot,  one  of  the  oldest  inhabi- 
tants was  made  to  swear  on  the  Scriptures  that  he  would 
act  honestly,  and  then  taking  an  icon  in  his  hand,  to 
walk  along  what  he  believed  to  be  the  right  boundary. 
These  customs  existed  till  1850,  when  the  Government 
decided  the  boundaries.  In  later  years  an  endless  variety 
of  nationalities  have  settled  on  the  steppe,  which  is  partly 
owing  to  the  efforts  of  Catherine  II.  to  encourage  emigration 
from  other  countries,  which  have  been  continued  under 
succeeding  sovereigns. 

The  traveller,  in  crossing  the  steppe,  will  be  struck  by  a 
number  of  little  mounds  occurring  at  intervals. 


'  On  the  steppe  small  and  regularly  formed  mounds  constantly  strike 
the  eye.  The  latter  are  occasionally  surmounted  by  roughly  cut  stone 
figures,  which  look  down  like  ghosts  upon  the  silent  desert.  Sometimes 
these  mounds  are  seen  clustered  together  in  large  numbers,  looking  as 
if  they  formed  a  great  cemetery  ;  at  other  times  isolated  mounds  extend 
in  lines  along  the  heights,  till  they  disappear  altogether,  or  rise  up 
only  at  distant  intervals  in  the  steppe.  The  country  over  which  the 
mounds  are  scattered  comprises  more  than  600,000  square  miles.  The 
statues  are  made  of  a  stone  which  is  not  found  nearer  than  four  hundred 
miles  from  the  spots  where  they  have  been  erected  ;  and  this  is  not  the 
case  with  regard  to  one  statue  only,  but  to  thousands. 

'  In  the  Government  of  Tver,  in  the  north  of  Russia,  these  tumuli 
are  called  Sopki,  Zapadni,  Koptzi  :  throughout  the  south  of  Russia  they 
have  the  name  of  Kurgani,  but  among  the  Little  Russians  that  also  of 
Mogili.  The  word  JCuTgan  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Tartar  giir, 
kyr,  kiir,  signifying  a  grave  or  hill,  and  khani,  a  house — literally,  a 
grave-house.  Mogila,  Mohila,  is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Arabic, 
and  to  signify  a  hill,  or  resting-place.  The  statues  on  the  Kurgans 
have  no  peculiar  name  ;  the  people  call  them  Babas,  old  women  or 
mothers. 

'  The  mounds  are  innumerable,  and  there  are  many  thousand  statues 
still  existing,  while  thousands  have  probably  been  destroyed,  as  any 

F  F  2 


436  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

trace  of  religious  veneration  for  them  has  disappeared.  The  statues 
evidently  belong  to  various  peoples,  exhibiting  the  most  dissimilar 
physiognomies,  dress,  and  ornaments  :  they  are  moreover  not  of  one  and 
the  same  age.  It  is  most  likely  that  all  the  various  peoples  who  have 
successively  traversed  and  inhabited  the  steppe,  adopted  the  custom  of 
erecting  these  tumuli,  which  probably  originated  in  some  religious 
worship ;  and  thus  thousands  of  years  may  have  elapsed  between  the 
erection  of  the  most  ancient  and  the  most  recent  monuments.  The 
first  writer  hitherto  known  to  mention  them  is  Ammianus  Marcellinus, 
who,  in  his  description  of  the  Huns,  says  :  "  They  have  singular  forms, 
and  might  be  mistaken  for  beasts  walking  upon  two  legs,  or  for  those 
roughly  hewn  columns  in  human  form  which  are  seen  on  the  shores  of 
the  Pontus  Euxinus."' — Haxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire? 

'  It  is  silent  where  these  graves  display  their  sad  and  lonely  hillocks  ! 
It  is  gloomy  and  deserted  in  the  tempest-stricken  Ukraine.' 

Malczewski. 

In  some  of  the  Kourgans  coffinless  skeletons  have 
been  found  with  vases  of  black  pottery  containing  food  at 
their  feet.  Sometimes  the  skeletons  have  remains  of  dress, 
chiefly  leather.  In  some  of  the  sepulchres  are  bronze  orna- 
ments. In  the  graves  of  women,  silver  diadems  and  orna- 
ments of  crystal  and  pearls  have  been  found. 

'  Les  observations  anthropologiques  s'accordent  ici  avec  les  donnees 
de  1'histoire,  qui  nous  montrent  les  Slaves  etablis  en  ce  pays  longtemps 
avant  1'arrivee  de  Rurik.  Ces  tombeaux  sont  bien  ceux  des  Slaves  de 
1'Ilmen,  fondateurs  de  Novgorod  la  Grande,  maitres  des  grands  lacs, 
triomphateurs  de  la  Baltique;  createurs  de  tant  de  colonies  dans  les 
deserts  du  nord.  .  .  .  On  voit  que  si  1'on  immolait  encore  sur  le  corps 
d'un  guerrier  illustre  quelque  gracieuse  compagne,  on  ne  brdlait  pas  les 
corps  :  on  ne  reduisait  en  cendres  que  les  animaux  offerts  en  sacrifice.' 
—  A.  Ratnbaud,  '  Revue  des  Deiix  MondesJ  1874. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  the  summer,  a  Russian  steppe 
possesses  a  luxuriant  beauty  not  unlike  that  of  the  Roman 
Campagna. 


APPROACH  TO  KIEFF.  437 

'  The  farther  the  steppe  went,  the  grander  it  became.  At  that  time 
the  whole  tract  of  land  which  now  forms  New  Russia,  even  as  far  as 
the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea,  was  but  one  green  uninhabited  waste.  No 
plough  ever  furrowed  its  immense  undulating  plains  of  wild  plants  ; 
the  wild  horses  which  herded  there  alone  trampled  them  down. 
Nothing  in  nature  was  more  beautiful  to  look  upon.  The  whole  vast 
steppe  was  a  green  golden  ocean,  of  which  a  million  flowers  of  various 
colours  sprinkled  the  surface.  Here,  through  the  thin  tall  blades  of 
grass,  the  purple,  blue,  and  violet  corn-flowers  were  to  be  seen  ;  there 
the  pyramidal  head  of  a  yellow  genista  shot  suddenly  up  ;  the  umbrella- 
like  heads  of  the  clover  shone  as  spots  of  white  ;  some  ears  of  wheat, 
brought  from  heaven  knows  whence,  ripened  slowly  amongst  the  grass. 
Beneath  their  thin  stems  partridges  were  fluttering  with  outstretched 
necks.  The  air  was  filled  with  the  cries  of  a  thousand  different  birds. 
Goshawks  remained  motionless  in  the  sky,  poised  on  their  open  wings, 
and  with  eyes  fixed  upon  the  earth.  The  screams  of  a  flock  of  wild 
geese,  which  were  visible  like  a  moving  cloud  on  one  side  of  the 
horizon,  were  re-echoed  by  the  murmurs  from  some  distant  lake.  A 
gull  might  be  seen,  with  measured  flapping  of  its  wings,  rising  in  the 
clouds,  and  bathing  luxuriously  in  the  blue  waves  of  the  air  ;  behold, 
now  it  vanishes  in  the  skies,  only  ever  and  again  showing  like  a  dark 
spot  ;  now  again  it  turns  round,  and  its  wings  are  gleaming  in  the 
sunshine. 

'  O  ye  steppes,  how  beautiful  ye  are  ! ' — Gogol,  '  Tarass  Boolba."1 

It  is  on  the  second  afternoon  after  leaving  Moscow  that 
we  reach  the  glorious  Dnieper,  the  third  river  of  Europe  in 
the  mass  of  its  water,  with  banks  which  from  early  times 
have  been  so  fertile  that  Herodotus  celebrates  it  as  the 
stream  which,  after  the  Nile,  has  been  most  useful  to  man- 
kind. Beyond  the  Dnieper  rises  a  low  range  of  brown  hills 
covered  with  wood— at  least  they  would  be  low  in  any  other 
country,  but  they  are  high  for  Russia,  and  so  are  called  Kiev, 
'  the  mountain.'  It  is  said  that  S.  Andrew,  the  Apostle  of  Greece, 
sailing  up  the  Borysthenes,  as  the  Dnieper  was  called  before 
the  existence  of  Russia,  beheld  these  hills  and  exclaimed, 
'  Look  upon  these  heights,  for  they  shall  be  illuminated  by  the 


438  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

grace  of  God ;  there  a  great  city  shall  be  built,  and  shall  raise 
its  many  altars  to  the  Saviour.' l  And  now,  above  the  fringe 
of  brushwood  on  the  hill-tops  rise  the  many  golden  domes  and 
bulbous  spires  of  cathedral  and  convents.  The  three  towns 
which  form  Kieff  are  seen  at  once,  Pecherskoe  and  its  famous 
lavra ;  then  old  Kieff  with  its  churches  and  monasteries  ; 
then,  on  the  level,  the  later  Podol,  also  sparkling  with  metal 
spires  and  domes.  After  the  desolation  of  the  rest  of  Russia, 
the  scene  is  indescribably  attractive  and  beautiful.  When  it 
has  crossed  the  Dnieper  by  a  long  bridge,  the  railway  makes  a 
great  circuit  to  the  station,  which  is  quite  at  the  back  of  the 
hills. 

It  is  certain  that  the  town  of  Kieff  existed  long  before  it 
is  mentioned  by  the  chronicles.  Askold  2  and  Dir,  two  of  its 
early  princes,  are  believed  to  have  been  the  first  Russians 
who  embraced  Christianity. 

'  In  the  year  866  they  made  their  appearance  in  armed  vessels  before 
the  walls  of  Constantinople,  during  the  absence  of  the  Emperor,  and 
caused  great  alarm  and  confusion  in  the  Greek  capital.  Tradition  tells 
that  the  Patriarch  Photius  took  the  virginal  robe  of  the  Mother  of  God 
from  the  Blachern  church,  and  plunged  it  beneath  the  waters  of  the 
straits,  when  the  sea  immediately  arose  in  storm,  and  the  vessels  of  the 
heathen  were  wrecked.  Awe-stricken,  they  recognised  the  God  who 
had  smitten  them,  and  became  the  firstfruits  of  their  people  to  the 
Lord.  The  hymn  of  victory  of  the  Greek  Church  "  to  the  protecting 
Conductress  "  in  honour  of  the  most  holy  Virgin  has  remained  a 
memorial  of  this  triumph,  and  even  now  amongst  ourselves  concludes 
the  office  for  the  First  Hour  in  the  daily  mattins,  for  that  indeed  was 
the  first  hour  of  salvation  for  the  land  of  Russia.' — Mouravieff. 

In  -882  the  Varagian  princes  were  murdered,  and  Kieff 
was  seized  by  Oleg,  who  was  guardian  of  Igor,  son  of  Rurik, 

1  Nesto,  ii.  93.  3  See  the  account  of  Askold's  tomb  at  Kieff. 


THE   STORY  OF  KIEFF.  439 

and  he  was  so  delighted  with  the  beauties  and  advantages 
of  the  situation  that  he  declared  Kieff  to  be  '  the  mother  of 
all  the  Russian  towns.' l  From  this  time,  however,  Chris- 
tianity had  nothing  more  than  a  flickering  existence  till  the 
regency  of  the  famous  Olga  (945-955),  widow  of  Igor,  her- 
self a  peasant-girl  from  Pskoff.  Olga,  who  governed  Russia 
during  the  minority  of  her  son  Sviatoslaf,  was  probably  first 
instructed  in  the  Christian  faith  from  Moravia,  whither,  c.  900, 
Methodius  and  Cyril  travelled  from  Greece  to  plant  the 
Gospel,  and  where,  having  learnt  the  Slavonian  language, 
then  common  to  Moravia  and  Russia,  they  translated  the 
service  of  the  Church,  or  some  part  of  it,  into  the  Slavonic 
tongue  from  the  Greek.  After  she  had  cruelly  avenged  the 
death  of  her  husband  upon  the  Volga,  Olga  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  '  Tsarigrad '  (Constantinople),  to  seek  further  knowledge  of 
the  true  God,  and  was  baptised  there  by  the  name  of  Helena, 
the  Emperor  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus  being  her  god- 
father. She  brought  back  with  her  the  priest  Gregory,  by 
whom  she  was  buried  (967)  with  Christian  rites,  being 
honoured  as  a  saint  by  the  people  after  her  death.  The 
warlike  Sviatoslaf  (son  of  Olga),  who  was  killed  in  battle 
(972),  refused  to  renounce  paganism,  as  he  believed  that  his 
soldiers  would  abandon  him  if  he  did  so.  But  his  son 
Vladimir,  though  a  cunning,  debauched,  and  bloody  bar- 
barian, who  had  obtained  the  throne  of  Kieff  by  the  cruel 
murder  of  his  elder  brother  Yaropolk,  after  being  at  first  a 
zealous  idolater,  became  the  real  founder  of  Christianity 
in  Russia.  The  curious  story  of  his  conversion  is  re- 
corded by  Nestor,  who  lived  only  in  the  next  generation 
(1050-1116).  The  conversations  which  then  took  place 

1  Karamsin 


44o  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

with 'the  numerous  proselytisers,  who  hoped  to  lead  him  to 
embrace  their  faith,  exhibit  a  curious  mixture  of  crafty  sim- 
plicity, and  barbaric  sense,  and  are  very  characteristic  of 
the  Russian  history  of  the  age. 

First  (986)  came  envoys  from  the  barbarian  Mussulmans 
of  the  Volga,  saying,  *  Wise  and  prudent  prince  as  thou  art, 
thou  hast  neither  law  nor  religion  :  accept  ours  and  honour 
Mahomet.'  '  But  in  what  does  your  religion  consist  ? '  asked 
Vladimir.  '  We  believe  in  God,'  they  answered,  '  and  we 
believe  also  in  the  teaching  of  the  Prophet.  Be  circumcised, 
give  up  eating  pork,  and  after  death  from  seventy  wives 
choose  the  most  beautiful.'  Now  the  last  reason  had  weight 
with  Vladimir,  but  he  did  not  like  circumcision,  he  liked 
pork,  and  loved  wine.  '  Drinking,'  he  said,  *  is  the  greatest 
pleasure  of  the  Russians  ;  we  cannot  give  it  up.' 

Then  came  representatives  of  Western  Christianity,  in 
the  person  of  members  of  the  sect  called  Paulicians,  and 
urged  Vladimir  to  embrace  their  doctrines,  saying  that  the 
Pope  had  sent  them.  *  And  what  does  your  law  command  ?  ' 
he  asked.  '  Well,  we  fast,  and  when  anyone  eats  or  drinks, 
he  always  does  it  to  the  glory  of  God,  as  wre  have  been  told 
by  our  master,  S.  Paul.'  'Go  hence  !'  cried  Vladimir;  'our 
fathers  did  not  believe  in  your  religion,  and  did  not  receive 
their  religion  from  the  Pope.' 

Next  came  Jews  from  Khozar,  and  explained  how  their 
law  demanded  circumcision  and  the  observance  of  Satur- 
day, and  forbade  the  eating  of  pork  and  ham.  But  the 
Grand  Prince  asked  them  of  their  country,  and  when,  they 
confessed  that  for  their  sins  it  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  Christians,  and  that  they  were  dispersed  over  the  earth, 
he  drove  them  from  his  presence,  saying,  '  How  do  you, 


CONVERSION  OF   VLADIMIR.  441 

whom  God  has  rejected,  dare  to  teach  others  ?  If  God  had 
approved  of  you,  He  would  never  have  dispersed  you  abroad. 
You  seem  to  wish  to  make  us  also  deserving  of  your  punish- 
ment.' 

Then  came  a  philosopher  from  Greece  and  explained  all 
dealings  of  God  with  the  world  from  its  creation,  expounding 
the  true  faith,  with  the  reward  of  the  righteous  and  the  punish- 
ment of  the  ungodly;  and,  to  give  force  to  his  words,  he  showed 
Vladimir  a  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment,  which  represented 
the  just  entering  Paradise  and  the  wicked  driven  into  Hell. 
By  this  Vladimir  was  greatly  moved,  but  he  demanded  time 
for  further  reflection,  though  he  sent  the  philosopher  away 
laden  with  honourable  gifts. 

In  the  next  year  Vladimir  summoned  his  nobles,  and 
told  them  all  he  had  heard,  and  they,  after  saying  that  it  was 
no  more  than  natural  that  everyone  should  praise  his  own 
religion,  urged  him  to  send  forth  wise  men  to  examine  and 
report  upon  the  worship  of  each  in  its  own  country.  This 
advice  was  followed,  and  after  having  visited  the  centres  of 
all  the  other  religions,  the  envoys  came  to  Tsargorod  (Con- 
stantinople), where  Basil  Porphyrogenitus  was  then  reigning, 
who  ordered  that  the  messengers  of  Vladimir  should  '  see 
the  glory  of  God '  in  the  Church  of  S.  Sophia. 

'  From  the  very  earliest  times  of  the  Church,  extraordinary  signs  of 
God's  power  have  constantly  gone  hand  in  hand  with  that  apparent 
weakness  of  man  by  which  the  Gospel  was  preached  ;  and  so  the 
Byzantine  chronicle  narrates  of  the  Russian  ambassadors,  "  That  during 
the  Divine  Liturgy,  at  the  time  of  carrying  the  holy  gifts  in  procession 
to  the  throne  or  altar,  and  of  singing  the  cherubic  hymn,  the  eyes  of 
their  spirits  were  opened,  and  they  saw,  as  in  an  ecstasy,  glittering 
youths  who  joined  in  singing  the  hymn  of  the  Thrice  Holy.  Being 
thus  fully  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  orthodox  faith,  they  returned  to 
their  own  country  already  Christians  in  heart  ;  and  without  saying  a 


442  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

word  before  the  prince  in  favour  of  the  other  religions,  they  declared 
thus  concerning  the  Greek  :  —  "When  we  stood  in  the  temple,  we  did 
not  know  where  we  were,  for  there  is  nothing  else  like  it  upon  earth  ; 
there,  in  truth,  God  has  his  dwelling  with  man  ;  and  we  can  never 
forget  the  glory  which  we  saw  there.  No  one  who  has  once  tasted 
what  is  sweet,  will  afterwards  take  that  which  is  bitter,  therefore  we 
cannot  any  longer  remain  pagans."  Then  the  Boyars  said  to  Vladimir, 
"  If  the  religion  of  the  Greeks  had  not  been  good,  your  grandmother 
Olga,  the  wisest  of  women,  would  not  have  embraced  it."  The  re- 
membrances of  Olga  decided  her  grandson,  and  he  answered  no  more 
than  the  words,  "  When  shall  we  be  baptised  ?  "  '—Mouravieff 

'  Vladimir  avait  envoye  des  deputes  dans  divers  pays,  pour  savoir 
laquelle  de  toutes  les  religions  il  lui  convenait  le  mieux  d'adopter;  il  se 
decida  pour  le  culte  grec,  a  cause  de  la  pompe  des  ceremonies.  II  le 
prefera  peut-etre  encore  par  des  motifs  plus  importants  :  en  effet,  le 
culte  grec,  en  excluant  1'empire  du  pape,  donne  au  souverain  de  la 
Russia  les  pouvoirs  spirituels  et  temporels  tout  ensemble.' — Mine,  de 
StaeL 

But,  following  the  custom  of  his  ancestors,  Vladimir 
thought  it  necessary  to  conquer  his  new  religion  with  the 
sword,  and,  embarking  his  warriors,  laid  siege  to  Cherson, 
which  belonged  to  the  Greek  emperors.  This  siege  was 
unsuccessful,  till  a  certain  priest  named  Athanasius,  by 
means  of  an  arrow  shot  from  the  walls,  informed  the  Russian 
prince  that  the  fate  of  the  besieged  depended  upon  the 
supply  of  water  from  the  aqueducts.  The  besiegers  then  cut 
the  water-courses,  and  the  town  was  forced  to  submit.  Yet 
still,  before  he  finally  accepted  Christianity,  Vladimir  de- 
manded a  visible  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  promises  of  the 
Saviour,  that  whatever  was  asked  of  the  Father  in  His  name, 
He  would  give  it.  He  had  been  assured  that  there  w^as 
nothing  which  could  not  be  obtained  from  God  by  prayer. 
Therefore  he  declared  that  as  God  had  preserved  the  com- 
panions of  Daniel  in  the  fiery  furnace,  He  might  well 
preserve  the  Bible,  which  contained  all  these  marvellous 


CONVERSION  OF   VLADIMIR.  443 

histories,  from  being  consumed  by  fire.  Thereupon  a  Bible 
was  cast  into  a  great  furnace,  where  it  lay  unconsumed,  till 
all  the  fire  was  spent.  Upon  this  Vladimir  was  at  last 
convinced,  and  he  embraced  Christianity,  though  at  the 
same  time  he  characteristically  demanded  from  the  Greek 
emperors  (Basil  Porphyrogenitus  and  Constantine)  the  hand 
of  their  sister  Anne,  promising  to  become  outwardly  Christian 
if  it  was  accorded,  and  vowing  that,  if  it  was  refused,  Con- 
stantinople should  share  the  fate  of  Cherson.  Anne  under- 
took for  the  sake  of  religion  to  sacrifice  herself  to  the 
savage  of  the  North,  and  upon  her  arrival  at  Cherson,  Vladi- 
mir was  baptised,  being  cured,  it  is  said,  of  a  disease  in  his 
eyes,  at  the  moment  when  the  archbishop's  hands  were 
laid  upon  him.1 

When  Vladimir  returned  to  Kieff,  it  was  as  an  apostle 
(Isapostolos).  In  the  midst  of  the  tears  of  the  people  he 
destroyed  the  famous  idol  Peroun,  and  dismissed  his  other 
idols,  and  his  eight  hundred  concubines.  Then,  having 
caused  the  twelve  sons  which  his  six  wives  had  borne  him 
to  be  baptised,  he  ordered  a  general  baptism  of  his  people, 
declaring  that  any  who  refused  the  rite  should  be  accounted 
his  enemy. 

'  At  the  call  of  their  honoured  lord  all  the  multitude  of  the 
citizens  in  troops,  with  their  wives  and  children,  flocked  to  the  river,4 
and  without  any  kind  of  opposition  received  holy  baptism  as  a  nation 
from  the  Greek  bishops  and  priests.  Nestor  draws  a  touching  picture 
of  this  baptism  of  a  whole  people  at  once.  "  Some  stood  in  the  water 
up  to  their  necks,  others  up  to  their  breasts,  holding  their  young 
children  in  their  arms  ;  the  priests  read  the  prayers  from  the  shore, 
naming  at  once  whole  companies  by  the  same  name."  He  who  was 
the  means  of  bringing  them  to  salvation,  filled  with  a  transport  of  joy 

1  Knramsin. 

-  The  PotchaTna,  not  the  Dnieper,  which  did  then  flow  at  the  foot  of  the  hills. 


444 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


at  the  affecting  sight,  cried  out  to  the  Lord,  offering  and  commending 
into  His  hands  himself  and  his  people  :  "  O  great  God  !  Who  hast 
made  heaven  and  earth,  look  down  upon  these  Thy  new  people. 
Grant  them,  O  Lord,  to  know  Thee,  the  true  God,  as  Thou  hast  been 
made  known  to  Christian  lands,  and  confirm  them  in  a  true  and 
unwavering  faith  ;  and  assist  me,  O  Lord,  against  my  enemy  that 
opposes  me,  that,  trusting  in  Thee  and  in  Thy  power,  I  may  be  victorious 
over  his  wiles."  Vladimir  erected  the  first  church,  that  of  S.  Basil, 
after  whom  he  was  named,  on  the  very  mount  which  had  formerly 
been  sacred  to  Peroun,  adjoining  his  own  palace.  Thus  was  Russia 
enlightened. ' — Mottravieff. 


THE    DNIEPER,    KIEKF. 

'  In  this  great  day,'  says  Nestor,  '  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  trembled  with  joy.' 

Kieff  continued  to  be  the  residence  of  the  Russian 
metropolitans— the  Canterbury  of  Russia— from  the  time  of 
Vladimir  till  1299,  when  they  were  translated  to  the  town  of 
Vladimir.  From  997  (when  Christianity  was  introduced) 
till  1240,  Russia  continued  to  be  under  the  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  of  Constantinople,  but,  after  the  Tartar  invasion 


THE  FALL   OF  KIEFF.  445 

had  rendered  communication  with  the  Greek  capital  more 
difficult,  the  Princes  gradually  assumed  the  right  of  choosing 
the  metropolitan  of  Kieff,  and  merely  sent  him  to  Constanti- 
nople for  consecration.  This  sign  of  submission  was  finally 
abandoned  in  1448,  and  the  metropolitan  was  thenceforth 
consecrated  by  a  council  of  Russian  bishops. 

The  Grand  Prince  Vladimir  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Yaroslaf,  who  built  the  Cathedral  of  S.  Sophia,  and  introduced 
into  Russia,  in  the  Rousska'ia  Pravda,  the  Byzantine  system 
of  Canon  Law  and  the  rudiments  of  Christian  education.  He 
was  succeeded  (1054)  by  his  son  Isaiaslaf,  followed  after  a 
short  interval  (1093)  by  his  son  Sviatopolk,  under  whom  the 
Pecherskoe  monastery  was  founded.  Vladimir  Monomachus, 
grandson  of  Yaroslaf,  who  succeeded  in  1113,  married  Gytha, 
daughter  of  the  Saxon  Harold.1  At  his  death  this  prince  left 
singularly  wise  and  Christian  injunctions  to  his  sons,  enjoin- 
ing as  their  mainspring  the  maxim  that  '•  It  is  not  fasting, 
nor  solitude,  nor  monastic  life  that  will  procure  eternal  life, 
but  only  doing  good.' 2 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  Kieff,  after 
Constantinople,  was  the  largest  and  richest  town  in  Eastern 
Europe;  but  the  chronicler  Ditmar  records  that  in  1124, 
the  year  before  the  death  of  Monomachus,  in  a  great  fire 
which  occurred,  as  many  as  six  hundred  churches  and 
chapels  were  burnt  in  Kieff.  This  fact  shows  the  flourishing 
state  of  religion  in  the  capital  at  that  time. 

The  political  ascendency  of  Kieff  was  brief.  In  1158 
the  capital  was  transferred  to  Vladimir,  and  the  grand  dukes 
of  Kieff,  Vladimir,  and  Novogorod  soon  became  merged 
into  the  Tsar  of  Muscovy.  Meanwhile  the  riches  of  the 

1  Mouravicff.  '2  Karamsin,  ii. 


446  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

ancient  capital  were  a  constant  attraction  to  its  enemies,  and 
it  was  four  times  destroyed  :  in  1 1 7 1  by  the  army  of  Andrew, 
Prince  of  Sousdalia  ;  in  1240  by  the  Mongol  Bati  Khan  ; 
in  1416  by  the  Tartars  ;  and  in  1584  by  the  Crimean  Tartars, 
incited  by  Ivan  III.  of  Moscow.  After  the  last  destruction 
it  was  deserted  for  ten  years,  then  rebuilt.  It  is  still,  in  spite 
of  all  its  misfortunes,  the  fourth  city  in  importance  of  the 
Russian  Empire,  but,  though  it  occupies  forty  square  kilo- 
metres, it  has  only  eighty  thousand  inhabitants  :  without  in- 
creasing its  limits  externally,  it  could  receive  three  times  that 
number  if  all  its  waste  places  were  built  upon.  Kieff  is  the 
sacred  city,  the  '  Holy  Place '  of  Southern  Russia,  the  Kiouba 
or  Sambatas  of  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus,  the  Kouyaba 
of  the  Arabs,  the  Man-Kerman  of  the  Tartars.  As  the  Great 
Russian  speaks  of  'Holy  Mother  Moscow,'  so  the  Little 
Russian  speaks  of  '  Holy  Mother  Kieff.' 

Kieff  is  formed  by  a  collection  of  towns,  difficult  of 
access  from  one  another.  The  ascents  and  descents  are  well 
managed,  but  interminable.1  Open  vans  instead  of  omni- 
buses meet  the  traveller  at  the  station,  and  take  him  across 
the  hills  to  the  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town,  which 
occupies  the  hollow  between  the  TOwn  on  the  Cliff,  which 
contains  the  cathedral  and  the  principal  churches,  and  that 
called  Pecherskoi,  which  contains  the  famous  monastery. 
The  Podol,  or  mercantile  part  of  the  town,  lies  in  the 
plain  of  the  Dnieper,  behind  the  Town  on  the  Cliff.  The 
Grand  Hotel  is,  for  Russia,  very  comfortable,  and  stands  in 
a  broad  street,  with  handsome  shops. 

Immediately  behind  the  hotel  rises  the  hill — 'The  Cliff' — • 

1  No  to\vn  has  steeper  hills  than  Kieff,  which  is  going  to  employ  the  cog-wheel 
principle,  used  on  the  Righi,  to  its  street  railways. 


S.   SOPHIA    OF  KIEFF.  447 

ascending  which  we  first  reach  upon  the  left  the  vast  enclosure 
of  the  Monastery  of  S.  Michael  of  the  Golden  Head,  surmounted 
by  many  gilt  domes.  Originally  dating  from  the  first  years 
of  the  twelfth  century,  when  it  was  founded  by  Sviatopolk, 
grandson  of  Yaroslaf,  who  was  buried  within  its  walls,  it 
was  rebuilt  in  1523.  The  church  contains  the  silver  shrine 
of  S.  Barbara,  the  patroness  of  armourers  and  soldiers  and 
protectress  against  lightning,  who  suffered  martyrdom  in  303, 
having  been  converted  to  Christianity  at  Alexandria  by 
Origen.  The  relics  of  the  saint  were  brought  to  Russia  by 
Barbara,  first  wife  of  Sviatopolk,  who  was  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  of  Constantinople.1  Against  the  iconastos  is  the 
diamond-set  icon  of  S.  Michael,  which  Alexander  I.  took 
with  him  through  the  whole  campaign  of  1812.  Curious 
reliefs  represent  S.  George  and  S.  Demetrius  fighting 
dragons. 

Facing  us,  across  the  open  space  on  the  left,  stands  the 
gigantic  belfry  which  forms  the  approach  to  an  enclosure 
containing  the  magnificent  Cathedral  of  S.  Sophia,  'the 
marvel  of  the  Ukraine,'  which  disputes  with  the  cathedral  of 
Tchernigow  the  palm  of  being  the  oldest  church  in  Russia, 
having  been  built  by  the  Grand  Duke  Yaroslaf  (son  of 
Vladimir)  in  1037,  in  memory  of  his  victory  over  the  Pet- 
chenegians  on  that  spot. 

'  The  high-sounding  name  of  S.  Sophia  pleased  the  prince,  who 
wished  to  reproduce  in  his  own  capital  the  monuments  of  Byzantium, 
and  was  delighted  that  even  in  his  time  it  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
being  a  second  Constantinople.  He  had  called  one  of  its  gates  "the 
golden,"  as  if  in  memory  of  those  gates  of  Constantinople  on  which 
his  ancestor  Oleg  had  hung  his  victorious  shield  ;  but  Yaroslaf  still 
more  ardently  desired  that  the  temple  of  the  Divine  Wisdom,  S.  Sophia, 

1  Mouravieff,  iii. 


448 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


in  which  his  father's  ambassadors  had  first  believed  on  the  true  God, 
should  be  copied  at  least  in  name,  if  not  altogether  in  structure,  in  his 
two  capitals  of  Kieff  and  Novogorod,  as  Vladimir  had  erected  the 
Cathedral  of  the  most  holy  Virgin  in  memory  of  that  at  Cherson  in 
which  he  was  baptised.  The  metropolitan  Theopemptus,  who  had 
been  sent  by  the  patriarch  Alexis  Studites,  consecrated  the  cathedral 
of  S.  Sophia,  and  it  has  stood,  even  to  our  own  times,  together  with 
the  marble  tomb  of  its  founder,  through  all  the  storms  of  the  Mongolian 
invasion  and  the  frequent  sackings  of  Kieff.  —  Mouravieff. 


S.    SOPHIA,    KIEFF. 


The  church  of  Kieff  is  a  great  deal  smaller  than  that  of 
Constantinople,  this  measuring  thirty -six  metres  by  fifty-three, 
that  ninety-six  by  seventy-seven.  This  church  is  only  forty, 
and  its  great  namesake  sixty-six  metres  high.  Still  S.  Sophia 
of  Kieff  is  the  largest  of  the  ancient  Russian  cathedrals.  The 
interior  is  very  lofty  in  effect,  arid  will  strike  even  those  who  are 
fresh  from  Moscow  as  unspeakably  rich,  solemn,  and  beauti- 


S.   SOPHIA    OF  KIEFF.  449 

ful,  and  glorious  in  its  harmonious  colouring.  Nothing  can 
be  more  effective  than  the  ancient  gold  which  here  covers 
the  walls,  and  the  brilliantly  lighted  tombs  of  the  saints  seen 
through  the  dark  arches.  Endless  and  labyrinthine  seem 
the  pillars,  the  tiny  chapels,  and  the  eight  secondary  choirs 
which  encircle  the  principal  choir.  A  gorgeous  iconastos 
cuts  the  church  in  half,  and  innumerable  icons  sparkle  every- 
where under  their  '  metallic  cloths,'  as  the  Russians  call 
them.  In  one  oi  the  chapels  on  the  right,  that  of  the  Three 
Popes,  are  some  ancient  Byzantine  frescoes,  absolutely  un- 
touched. Their  preservation  in  recent  times  is  due  to  the 
Emperor  Nicholas.  '  Time  will  thus  show/  he  said,  '  to 
posterity,  that  in  all  the  rest  of  the  church  we  have  been  satis- 
fied to  restore  without  making  any  innovations.'  On  the  stairs 
which  lead  to  the  upper  galleries  are  representations  of  fan- 
tastic animals,  probably  the  most  interesting  frescoes  in  Russia 
— huntsmen  pursuing  wild  beasts,  which  are  sometimes 
perched  in  the  trees.  Other  frescoes  represent  a  man  in  prison, 
and  a  sort  of  tribunal,  dancers  moving  to  the  sound  of  many 
instruments,  a  juggler,  and  charioteers  in  a  hippodrome 
waiting  the  signal  for  the  race. 

'  Partout  il  y  a  des  accessoires,  des  divisions,  des  compartiments  a 
1'infini  ;  au  milieu  de  ces  chapelles  et  de  ces  galeries,  on  cherche 
1'eglise  ;  mais  ce  qui  rejouit  1'archeologue,  c'est  1'immense  quantite  de 
fresques  et  de  mosa'iques  qui  couvrent  ces  voutes  et  ces  piliers.  On 
voit  partout  des  prophetes,  des  saints,  des  docteurs  avec  leurs  grands  yeux 
fixes,  noirs,  nullement  russes,  et  ce  type  special  qui  denote  un  pinceau 
byzantin.  Le  livre  sacre  dans  une  main,  1'autre  levee  pour  benir  ou 
pour  instruire,  ils  semblent  continuer  1'ceuvre  d'evangelisation  com- 
mencee  par  les  Grecs  du  xme  siecle  parmi  les  populations  slaves.  Leurs 
noms  memes  sont  inscrits  non  en  caracteres  slaves,  mais  en  grec.  Aux 
voutes  des  chapelles  et  des  galeries  planent  les  anges  de  Dieu,  ces 
"  faces  volantes"  qui  n'ont  d'autre  corps  que  six  ailes  flamboyarites  et 

G  G 


450  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

multicolores.     Tous  ces  sujets  sont  traites  d'une  fagon  absolument  iden- 
tique  a  ceux  qui  decorent  1'eglise  de  Justinien. ' — Alfred  Rambaud. 

In  the  mosaics  behind  the  altar  is  a  colossal  figure  of  the 
Virgin,  with  the  inscription,  '  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her;  she 
shall  not  be  moved.'  *  Below  is  the  Last  Supper,  in  which 
the  figure  of  Christ  appears  twice.  On  the  right  of  the 
tabernacle,  which  is  guarded  by  angels,  He  gives  his  Body 
to  six  of  the  Apostles,  on  the  left  He  gives  his  Blood  to  the 
other  six. 

In  the  chapel  of  his  father,  S.  Vladimir,  is  the  tomb  of 
the  founder,  Yaroslaf,  with  whom  the  power  and  prosperity 
of  ancient  Russia  came  to  an  end.2  The  sculpture  of  the 
tomb — Latin  crosses,  fish,  and  palms — recalls  that  of  the 
Roman  catacombs. 

'  Sous  ce  Yaroslaf,  Kief  atteignit  au  xi°  siecle  son  plus  magnifique 
developpement :  c'est  alors  qu'elle  fut  la  ville  aux  700  eglises.  Apres 
la  mort  de  ce  Charlemagne  russe,  qui  fut  le  beau-pere  d'un  roi  de 
France,  Kief  cut  le  sort  d'Aix-la-Chapelle.  Pillee  pendant  les  guerres 
civiles  des  princes  russes,  saccagee  par  les  Tatars  en  1280,  conquise 
par  les  Polonais,  sa  decadence  fut  rapide.  Vers  le  milieu  du  xvie  siecle 
de  grands  arbres  croissaient  sur  les  toits  de  Sainte-Sophie.' — Rambaud. 

In  accordance  with  his  wish,  Vsevolod,  the  favourite  son 
of  the  great  Yaroslaf,  was  laid  by  his  father's  side  in  1093. 
'  All  the  people  assisted  at  his  funeral,  for  they  deplored  the 
loss  of  their  princes  as  that  of  veritable  fathers,  the  recollec- 
tion of  their  failings  being  swallowed  up  in  that  of  their 
benefits.3 

It  was  in  this  church  that  Vladimir  Monomachus,  pro- 
claimed first  Tsar  of  Russia,  was  crowned  (1123)  by  the 

1  Psalm  xlvi.  5.  2  Karamsin.  3  Karamsin. 


S.    SOPHIA    OF  KIEFF.  451 

metropolitan  of  Ephesus.  But  the  crown,  still  preserved  at 
Moscow,  which  is  called  by  his  name,  and  used  in  the  Im- 
perial coronations,  is  now  decided  never  to  have  belonged 
to  Vladimir.  Here,  also,  after  his  death  in  1126,  which  took 
place  at  the  spot  where  Boris  was  murdered  on  the  shore  of 
the  Alta,  this  illustrious  prince  was  buried. 

Amongst  the  great  relics  of  the  church  are  the  uncorrupt 
remains  of  the  metropolitan  S.  Macarius,  martyred  on  the 
road  by  the  Tartars  !  in  1497. 

It  is  probably  at  S.  Sophia  that  we  shall  obtain  our  first 
sight  of  the  crowds  of  pilgrims  who  are  always  visiting  Kieff 
— Cossackmen  in  a  single  garment  of  sheepskin  or  sack- 
cloth, women  in  turbans,  short  brilliant-coloured  petticoats, 
and  jack-boots.  Most  strange  at  first  is  the  mass  of  bowing, 
curvetting,  and  prostrating  figures,  never  making  their  obei- 
sance at  the  same  time,  but  just  when  the  impulse  of  the 
moment  prompts  them  ;  and  yet  no  one  can  help  being 
touched  by  the  reality  of  reverence  which  is  seen  here — the 
absorption  unconscious  of  all  surroundings  ;  often  the  rapt 
beatitude.  At  night,  near  all  the  churches,  rows  of  sheep- 
skins may  be  seen  lying  on  the  ground.  These  are  men 
asleep  under  the  stars,  sheepskins  being  at  once  the  dress, 
beds,  carpets,  and  tents  of  the  peasants. 

A  wide  grassy  enclosure  surrounds  the  cathedral,  with 
trees  and  the  palace  of  the  metropolitan  on  one  side.  It  is 
to  this  enclosure  that  the  mighty  detached  belfry  serves  as  a 
portal. 

In  the  handsome  street  near  the  cathedral  a  little  chapel 
covers  the  spring  which  is  said  to  have  gushed  forth  at  the 
call  of  S.  Vladimir,  and  in  which  his  twelve  sons  were 

1  Mcuraviefif,  xxx. 

G  G  2 


452  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA, 

baptised.  A  painting  here  commemorates  the  wholesale 
baptism  of  the  population,  the  shoulders  and  breasts  of  the 
Christian  converts  only  veiled  by  their  long  tresses.  The 
docile  nature  of  the  Russian  was  never  evinced  more  than 
in  the  facility  of  their  conversion.  '  If  baptism  had  not  been 
good,  our  princes  and  nobles  would  not  have  received  it,' 
was  a  reason  quite  sufficient  for  them. 

Several  other  buildings  must  be  visited  in  the  Town  on 
the  Cliff.  Most  of  them  stand  near  together  towards  the 
brow  of  the  hill  overhanging  the  Dnieper,  and  separated  by 
wide  grassy  spaces  and  rough  lanes  rather  than  streets,  which 
will  recall  the  deserted  paths  of  the  Aventine  to  those  who 
are  familiar  with  Rome.  We  must  notice  the  beautiful 
Byzantine  frescoes  in  the  Church  of  S.  Cyril,  and  the  shape- 
less mass  of  masonry  which  once  contained  the  Golden  Gate 
(Zolotye  Vorotd),  built  by  Yaroslaf  in  imitation  of  that  at 
Constantinople.  Boleslas  of  Poland,  when  he  entered 
Kieff,  split  the  Golden  Gate  with  the  sword  which  tradition 
declares  to  have  been  given  to  him  by  an  angel,  and  which 
was  afterwards  called  '  the  nicked,'  on  account  of  a  bit  which 
was  hacked  out  when  he  was  cutting  through  the  gate  of 
Kieff.1  This  sword,  still  preserved  in  the  cathedral  of 
Cracow,  was  long  used  at  the  Polish  coronations.  The 
rude  fragments  which  enclosed  the  Golden  Gate  are  inter- 
esting as  the  only  existing  remains  of  the  ancient  walls  and 
towers  of  Kieff. 

The  Church  of  S.  Basil,  or  the  Three  Popes  (Trekhsvia- 
titelei),  has  been  too  much  restored  to  be  of  much  present 
interest ;  but  it  was  founded  in  989  by  Vladimir,  who  took 
the  name  of  Basil  at  his  baptism.  He  chose  the  site  because 

1  See  notes  to  Karamsin. 


THE  DES1ATINNAJA    CHURCH.  453 

there,  before  his  conversion,  he  had  erected  his  famous 
statue  of  Peroun,  the  god  of  thunder,  made  of  wood,  with  a 
silver  head  and  a  golden  beard. 1  Peroun  was  the  greatest 
of  the  ancient  gods  ;  his  bow  was  the  rainbow,  his  arrows 
the  thunderbolts,  his  golden  key  the  lightning  with  which  he 
was  supposed  to  unlock  the  frozen  springs  of  the  earth.2 
With  the  tempests,  he  could  hold  the  spirits  of  evil  in  sub- 
jection.3 Here  his  statue  was  surrounded  by  those  of 
the  other  gods  as  satellites — Khorse,  Dazhbog,  Stribog, 
Simargla,  and  Mokoche.  '  Here,'  says  Nestor,  '  one  saw  the 
deluded  people  crowd  to  redden  the  earth  with  the  blood  of 
their  victims.'  Close  by  is  the  ravine  of  Boritchef,  long  time 
called  'the  Devil's  Falling  Place,'4  for  here,  after  Vladimir 
had  caused  Peroun  to  be  dragged  over  the  hills  at  a  horse's 
tail,  scourged  by  twelve  mounted  pursuers,  he  threw  him 
down  into  the  river.  But,  being  of  wood,  Peroun  floated 
upon  the  sacred  waters,  and  was  carried  to  the  spot  called 
Vydoubitski,  where  the  people  dragged  it  to  shore  and  wor- 
shipped it.  Vladimir,  however,  destroyed  it  there,  and 
built  a  commemorative  monastery  on  the  site.  The  spot 
where  the  idol  was  brought  to  land  was  long  known  as  the 
Bay  of  Peroun. 

The  Desiatinnaja  Church  (Church  of  the  Tithes),  of  re- 
markable and  striking,  though  heavy  character,  is  a  modern 
reproduction,  on  the  same  site,  of  the  ancient  church  founded 
in  989  by  S.  Vladimir,  who  made  a  vow  to  endow  it  with  the 
tenth  part  of  all  his  revenues.  Hence  it  was  generally 

1  Rambaud. 

~  In  Christian  mythology  the  attributes  of  PeVoun  seem  to  have  passed  to  S.  Elias 
the  Prophet.  When  it  thunders,  the  people  say,  '  The  Prophet  Elias  is  driving  in  his 
chariot  through  the  heaven.'— See  Tourgneneff,  '  Parents  and  Children' 

3  Ralston.  *  Rambaud. 


454  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

known  as  '  the  Cathedral  of  the  Tithes,' l  though  it  was 
dedicated  to  '  the  Holy  Mother  of  God,'  being  built  in  the 
'  two-faithed '  days  when,  immediately  after  the  destruction 
of  Peroun,  the  Virgin  Mary  was  beginning  to  take  the  place 
of  Lada,  the  Russian  goddess  of  Spring,  and  sister  of 
Peroun.  This  is  the  church  alluded  to  at  the  end  of  the 
famous  ballad  called  'the  Song  of  Igor.' 

'  Igor  arrives  at  Boritchef,  at  the  church  of  the  Holy  Mother  of  God 
of  Pirogoch.  The  country  rejoices,  the  towns  are  glad  ;  songs  are  sung 
in  honour  of  the  elder  princes,  then  of  the  younger.  They  sing  the 
glory  of  Igor  Sviatoslavitch,  of  the  savage  auroch  Vsevolod,*  of  Vladimir 
the  falconnet,  the  son  of  Igor.  Health  to  the  princes,  and  to  their 
droujina  which  fights  for  the  Christian  people  against  the  pagans  !  Glory 
to  the  princes,  Amen  to  their  droujina  !' 

Vladimir  endowed  his  church  with  the  images,  cross, 
and  vases,  which  he  had  brought  from  Kherson,  and  gave  it 
up  to  the  administration  of  priests  from  that  town,  under  the 
government  of  Anastasius,  by  whose  treachery  he  had  taken 
that  city.3  This  was  the  earliest  stone  cathedral  erected  in 
Russia,4  and  the  site  was  chosen  as  being  that  where  the 
Varagian  martyrs,  honoured  by  the  Greek  Church  under  the 
names  of  John  and  Theodore,  suffered.  After  Vladimir,  in 
A.D.  983,  had  returned  from  the  conquest  of  the  Yatvagers 
(a  Finnish  tribe),  and  was  celebrating  a  festival  in  honour  of 
his  gods,  his  elders  and  boyars,  in  the  flush  of  victory,  had 
said  to  him  :  '  Let  us  cast  lots  upon  our  sons  and  daughters, 
and  on  whomsoever  the  lot  shall  fall,  him  will  we  sacrifice  with 
the  sword  unto  our  gods.' 

1  Mouravieff.  2  Brother  of  Igor. 

3  Karamsin.    This  Anastasius  who  had  betrayed  Kherson  to  Vladimir,  afterwards 
betrayed  his  second  country  to  Boleslas,  King  of  Poland. 

4  Mouravieff. 


THE  DESIATINNAJA    CPIURCH.  455 

'  And  there  was  a  Varagian,  whose  residence  stood  on  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  church  of  the  Holy  Mother  of  God,  which  Vladimir 
built.  This  Varagian  had  come  from  Greece,  from  the  imperial  city, 
together  with  his  son,  whose  name  was  John.  He  dwelt  in  Kieff,  and 
was  firmly  attached  to  the  Christian  faith.  His  son  was  still  young, 
and  endowed  with  personal  and  mental  charms.  It  was  upon  this  man, 
through  the  envy  of  the  devil,  that  the  lot  fell.  And  the  men  who 
were  sent  to  him  declared — "  Behold,  the  lot  is  fallen  upon  thy  son, 
and  he  must  be  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  gods."  And  the  Varagian 
answered  them  and  said  :  "  Yours  are  no  gods,  but  lifeless  idols ; 
they  endure  for  a  day,  and  then  they  become  rotten ;  they  are  the  work 
of  men's  hands,  which  the  axe  and  the  knife  have  formed.  But  God 
is  one  only,  who  dwelleth  in  the  heavens  :  Him  the  Greeks  serve  and 
worship  as  the  Creator  of  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  of  the  stars,  the 
sun,  and  the  moon,  the  Creator  of  man  and  of  all  creatures,  whose  lives 
are  in  His  hands.  But  as  for  your  gods,  what  have  they  created  — 
they  who  are  themselves  the  work  of  men's  hands,  who  will  soon  perish 
and  be  forgotten  ?  I  will  not  give  up  my  son  to  such  a  superstitious 
people."  Then  those  who  were  sent  returned  and  related  these  words 
to  the  assembly,  upon  which  the  people  came  armed  and  destroyed 
everything  around  the  house.  The  Varagian  stood  on  a  covered 
balcony  with  his  son,  and  the  people  cried,  "  Give  us  your  son,  that  we 
may  offer  him  up  to  the  gods."  But  he  replied  to  them,  "  If  they  be 
gods,  let  them  send  one  of  their  number  to  seize  my  son  ;  but  why 
should  you  wish  to  make  a  sacrifice  to  them  ?  "  Then  the  people  cried 
out,  and  hewed  down  the  beams  which  supported  the  balcony,  and  in 
that  manner  destroyed  both  the  Varagians.' — Rosenkampf. 

In  this  church  is  the  tomb  of  Vladimir  (1015),  the 
Apostle  of  Russia,  who  bears  the  same  title  as  Constantine — 
'  Isapostolos,'  equal  to  an  apostle.  The  royal  saint  is  repre- 
sented on  the  lid  of  the  tomb,  which  is  adorned  with  the 
signs  of  the  zodiac.  He  was  laid  by  the  side  of  the  Eastern 
Grand  Princess  Anne,  who  had  died  four  years  before. 
When  the  ancient  Church  of  the  Tithes  was  destroyed  by 
the  Tartars  in  1240,  the  relics  of  Vladimir  were  lost ;  but 
they  were  discovered  under  one  of  the  ruined  arches  by 


456  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Archbishop  Peter  Mogila  in  I636,1  still  remaining  intact  in 
their  marble  coffins,  while  a  similar  coffin  close  by  contains 
the  remains  of  Anne.  Mogila,  who  had  been  archimandrite 
of  the  Pecherskoe,  gave  the  head  of  Vladimir  to  his  old 
monastery,  but  left  the  other  bones  and  those  of  the  Grand 
Princess  undisturbed.2 

'  Vladimir  est  devenu  le  centre  dans  les  chansons  populaires  :  dans 
ces  bylines  il  est  a  remarquer  qu'il  n'est  ni  Vladimir  le  Baptiseur,  ni  le 
vSdnt  Vladimir  de  1'eglise  orthodoxe,  mais  presque  tin  heros  solaire,  le 
successeur  de  ces  divinites  qu'il  a  detruites.  Pour  le  peuple,  au  fond 
reste  paien,  Vladimir  est  toujours  le  Beau  Soleil  de  Kief.' — A.Ranibaud^ 
lHist.  de  la  RussieS 

The  superstitious  Yaroslaf  ordered  the  bodies  of  Oleg 
and  Yaropolk,  the  brothers  of  Vladimir,  who  had  died  in 
paganism,  to  be  exhumed,  baptised,  and  buried  again  in  this 
church.  Close  to  Yaroslaf  was  buried,  '  amid  the  sobs  of 
the  people,  which  drowned  the  chanting  of  the  priests,'  3 
his  grandson,  the  brave  and  virtuous  Ysiaslaf  (1078),  who 
was  killed  in  battle  at  Tchernigov.  Here  also  his  son, 
Yaropolk,  murdered  in  his  chariot,  was  buried  in  1086. 

It  was  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  this  church 
which  was  the  scene  of  the  last  courageous  struggle  with  the 
terrible  invading  force  of  the  Tartars  under  Bati  Khan  in 
1240. 

'  Mangou,  son  of  Genghis  Khan,  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  Kiefif;  he 
found  it  upon  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Dnieper,  and,  according  to  the 
annalist,  was  never  weary  of  admiring  its  delightful  aspect.  Indeed,  the 
picturesque  position  of  the  town  on  the  steep  shores  of  a  noble  river, 
the  magnificence  of  its  churches,  whose  brilliant  cupolas  stood  out 
against  the  horizon,  seen  through  the  rich  foliage  of  gardens,  the  white 

1  See  MouraviefiT.  "  Dictionary  of  Russian  Saints.     S.  Petersburg,  183^". 

3  Nestor. 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  OLD  KIEFF.        457 

walls  which  surrounded  it,  its  gates  and  threatening  towers— master- 
works  of  Byzantine  architects  in  the  happy  days  of  Yaroslaf  the  Great — 
all  were  calculated  to  astonish  the  barbarians  of  the  desert.  .  .  .  Soon, 
like  a  fearful  storm,  the  terrible  army  of  Bati  surrounded  Kieff  on  every 
side.  The  noise  of  innumerable  waggons,  the  bellowing  of  camels  and 
oxen,  the  neighing  of  horses,  the  fierce  cries  of  the  enemy,  scarcely, 
according  to  the  annalist,  allowed  a  voice  to  be  audible  inside  the 
town.  .  .  .  The  attack  begins  by  an  assault  upon  the  Polish  Gate, 
which  leads  to  the  ravines  ;  there,  clay  and  night,  battering-rams  and 
other  engines  of  war  beat  upon  the  walls,  which,  yielding  to  their 
furious  blows,  fall  with  a  crash,  and  leave  the  brave  Kievians,  the 
best  protection  of  their  unhappy  town,  without  defence.  A  fearful 
struggle  instantly  commences  :  the  arrows  darken  the  air,  the  dead  and 
dying  are  rolled  underfoot ;  the  despair  of  the  besieged  long  resists  the 
superior  numbers  of  the  enemy,  but  by  the  evening  the  Tartars  are  in 
possession  of  the  walls.  The  success  of  the  Mongols  does  not  weaken 
the  courage  of  the  Russian  soldiers  :  they  beat  a  retreat  as  far  as  the 
Church  of  the  Tithes  ;  they  surround  it  by  night  with  a  palisade,  and, 
entrenched  behind  this  kind  of  fortification,  boldly  await  the  enemy, 
whilst  all  the  inhabitants  who  are  unfit  to  bear  arms,  shut  themselves 
up  in  the  church  with  all  their  most  precious  possessions.  It  was 
impossible  that  such  a  feeble  means  of  defence  could  save  the  town  ; 
nevertheless  not  a  word  of  negotiation  was  heard  ;  no  one  thought  of 
asking  grace,  of  imploring  the  clemency  of  the  cruel  Bati ;  all  faced 
the  death  that  awaited  them  as  a  generous  sacrifice  imposed  by  their 
religion  and  country.  .  .  .  The  Mongols,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
passed  the  night  on  the  ruins  of  the  walls ;  with  the  morning  they 
recommenced  the  attack,  and  soon  broke  through  the  feeble  barrier 
which  the  courage  of  the  Russians  had  opposed  to  them.  These, 
sustained  by  the  feeling  that  the  tomb  of  S.  Vladimir  was  behind 
them,  and  that  they  were  defending  this  last  asylum  of  their  liberty, 
executed  prodigies  of  valour.  All,  however,  was  in  vain,  and  the 
barbarian's  reached  the  church  of  Our  Lady,  after  having  strewn  the 
space  which  separated  them  from  it  with  corpses. 

'  To  celebrate  their  victory,  the  Mongols  gave  themselves  up  for 
several  days  to  all  the  horrors  of  destruction.  Weary  of  carnage,  they 
buried  under  the  blood-stained  ruins  the  whole  population,  the  master- 
pieces of  art,  the  fruits  of  a  long  civilisation  ;  and  the  ancient  Kieff, 
that  famous  capital,  the  mother  of  Russian  towns,  disappeared  for 
ever,  for,  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  only  scattered  ruins 
attested  its  existence,  and  the  new  town  offers  nothing  but  the  shadow  of 


458  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

its  ancient  splendour.  It  is  in  vain  that,  urged  by  curiosity,  the  traveller 
will  seek  for  the  objects  so  sacred  in  Russian  eyes.  Where  will  he  find 
the  tomb  of  S.  Olga  ?  What  has  become  of  the  bones  of  S.  Vladimir  ? 
The  pitiless  Bati  did  not  even  spare  the  sacred  refuge  of  the  tomb,  and 
the  barbarians  trampled  the  skulls  of  the  ancient  princes  under  their 
feet.  The  tomb  of  Yaroslaf  alone  escaped  the  devastation,  as  if  to  recall 
to  the  world  that  the  glory  of  the  lawgivers  of  men  is  the  most  solid 
and  the  most  durable.  The  Church  of  the  Tithes,  that  earliest,  that 
magnificent  building,  erected  by  Greek  architects,  was  ruined  to  its 
foundations,  and  its  remains  have  since  been  used  in  the  construction 
of  another  church,  in  the  walls  of  which  one  may  see,  at  the  present 
time,  fragments  of  an  inscription  belonging  to  the  ancient  building.' — 
Karanisin. 


In  a  most  picturesque  position — a  point  overhanging  the 
plain,  just  beyond  the  other  churches,  stands  S.  Andrea 
( Andre ya  Pervoyvannago),  supposed  to  mark  the  site  where 
S.  Andrew  first  prophetically  planted  the  cross.  It  is  a 
pretty  building,  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  by 
Rastrelli.  In  the  gracefully  decorated  interior  is  a  cross, 
brought  from  Mount  Athos  by  Mouravieff  the  historian. 
The  church  is  approached  by  an  iron  staircase,  and  stands 
on  a  terrace  which  has  a  glorious  view  over  the  plain  of  the 
Dnieper.  From  hence  the  pilgrims  delight  to  trace  out 
their  past  wanderings  as  in  a  map,  and  the  terrace  is  always 
peopled  by  groups  of  them,  one  generally  explaining  the 
different  features  in  the  view.  Hence  one  may  often  witness 
such  soul-subduing  sunsets  as  recall  the  description  of 
Gogol. 

*  As  evening  came  on,  the  whole  scenery  of  the  steppe  underwent  a 
change.  The  last  bright  reflection  of  the  sun  once  more  encircled  its 
variegated  expanse,  which  grew  gradually  darker  as  the  shades  of 
evening  slowly  advanced  over  it,  making  its  green  hues  blacker  and 
more  black  ;  the  scents  became  more  aromatic  ;  every  flower,  every 
herb  sent  forth  its  sweet  perfumes,  and  a  cloud  of  fragrance  seemed 


THE  PODOL.  459 

to  hover  over  the  whole  of  the  steppe.  Across  the  blue  dark- 
ness a  giant  brush  seemed  to  have  drawn  broad  stripes  of  red  gold  ; 
at  times  light  transparent  clouds  flitted  across  it  like  so  many  white 
flocks ;  the  most  delicious  breeze,  fresh  as  the  salt  waves,  gently 
stirred  the  surface  of  the  grass,  and  softly  caressed  the  cheek.  The 
harmony  which  had  filled  the  steppe  by  day  was  silenced,  and  other 
sounds  took  its  place.  Animals  which  had  burrowed  underground 
throughout  the  day  came  forth,  and  made  the  steppe  resound  with 
their  cries  and  hisses.  Louder  and  louder  grew  the  chirrup  of  the 
crickets.  Sometimes  from  a  distant  pool  the  cry  of  a  swan  was  heard 
ringing  silvery  through  the  air.' — Tarass  Boolba. 

A  very  steep  winding  road  leads  down  the  rugged  hill- 
side from  S.  Andrea  to  the  Podol,  the  city  in  the  plain, 
where  the  Potchina  falls  into  the  Dnieper.  This  is  the  town 
of  commerce  and  industry,  which  contains,  amongst  many 
other  ecclesiastical  edifices,  the  Bratski  Monastery,  princi- 
pally built  by  Mazeppa.1  Some  of  its  buildings  are  occu- 
pied by  an  ecclesiastical  college.  The  church  of  S.  Vlasius 
(Blaise),  who  has  succeeded  him  as  a  pastoral  protector, 
commemorates  the  sanctuary  of  Voloss,  the  shepherd's  god, 
the  Pan  of  the  Slaves.  One  of  the  principal  streets,  with  a 
population  of  fishermen,  Jews,  and  small  tradesmen,  re- 
called its  marshy  situation  by  the  name  of  *  Black  Mud 
Street.'  We  may  still  see  the  quarter  of  Lebed,  where  the 
beautiful  Rogneda  dwelt,  who  was  betrothed  to  Yaropolk, 
the  elder  brother  of  Vladimir,  and  whom  the  latter  married 
by  force,  having  murdered  her  father  Rogvolod,  and  his 
two  sons.  And  the  Slobode  of  Berestof  still  exists  where 

1  The  name  of  Mazeppa,  which  constantly  comes  across  travellers  at  Kieff,  is  best 
known  in  England  from  the  story  of  the  wild  horse.  This  had  its  origin  in  the  fact 
that,  whilst  living  on  his  mother's  estate  of  Volhynia,  he  had  an  intrigue  with  the  wife 
of  a  neighbouring  noble  named  Falbowski.  By  him  he  was  caught  on  his  return 
from  a  surreptitious  visit,  and  bound  naked  to  a  horse,  which,  frightened  by  a  pistol- 
shot  close  to  its  ear,  rushed  furiously  through  the  woods,  bringing  its  master  home 
torn  and  bleeding. 


460  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Vladimir  kept  two  hundred  out  of  the  eight  hundred  con- 
cubines  whom  Nestor  attributes  to  the  Solomon  of  the 
Slaves.1  Beyond  the  Podol  is  a  most  picturesque  market, 
whence  a  steep  ladder-like  staircase  leads  to  a  Roman 
Catholic  cemetery  and  its  chapel.  Hence  there  is  a  striking 
view  of  the  town  and  its  churches  crowning  the  opposite 
hill,  in  which  the  great  brown  rifts  recall  the  gorges  of  Siena 
to  the  Italian  traveller. 

The  Ascension  Convent  has  a  pretty  green  court,  with 
old  walnut-trees  and  walks,  and  the  most  complete  seclusion. 
The  University,  which  ranks  third  in  the  country,  removed 
hither  from  Wilna  in  1833,  is  one  of  ten  Russian  univer- 
sities.2 The  Dnieper  now  threatens  again  to  desert  the 
Podo),  and  is  only  prevented  by  artificial  embankments. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  views  in  Kieff  is  to  be  obtained 
from  the  delightful  walks  on  the  promontory  of  the  hill, 
where  the  brutal  Vladimir,  whose  hand  was  oftenest  raised 
to  murder,  is  represented  in  benediction  in  a  bronze  statue. 
Most  glorious  is  the  Dnieper  as  seen  from  hence  ! 

'  How  beautiful  is  the  Dnieper,  when,  in  a  time  of  calm,  its  waters 
flow  freely  through  the  forests  and  hills  !  There  is  no  ripple  on  the 
water,  it  makes  no  sound  ;  you  look,  and  you  do  not  know  if  this 
majestic  surface  is  in  movement  or  motionless  ;  one  might  say  it  was 
of  glass  ;  yet  one  is  conscious  that  this  pathway,  blue  as  a  mirror, 
immense  in  its  width,  infinite  in  its  length,  is  springing  forwards  and 
eddying  onwards. 

'  Then  the  burning  sun  delights  to  look  down  from  its  ethereal 
heights,  and  bury  its  rays  in  the  cold  crystal  of  the  waters  ;  the  trees 
on  the  bank  love  to  throw  their  shadow  over  the  waves  !  Laden  with 
feathery  branches  they  meet  the  flowers  of  the  field  upon  the  shore,  and, 
bending  over,  they  gaze  at  themselves  in  the  water  unweariedly,  con- 

1  Karamsin. 

2  S.    Petersburg,    Moscow,    Kieff,    Kharkof,    Kazan,    Odessa,  Warsaw,  Dorpat, 
Helsingfors,  and  Tomsk  in  Siberia. 


PECHERSKOE.  461 

template  their  clear  image,  smile  to  it,  and  salute  it  by  waving  their 
leaves.  But  they  do  not  dare  to  look  into  the  middle  of  Dnieper  ;  it 
is  only  the  sun  and  the  blue  heaven  that  can  do  that ;  even  the  birds 
can  seldom  manage  it.  No  river  in  the  world  is  equal  to  this  in  its 
magnificence  ! 

'  How  beautiful  is  the  Dnieper,  in  a  hot  summer  night,  when  every- 
thing is  asleep  :  man,  beast,  and  bird  ;  God  alone  contemplates  majes- 
tically the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  waves  His  robes  with  dignity. 
The  stars  shine  forth,  they  burn  and  light  the  world,  and  all  reflect 
themselves  in  the  Dnieper.  It  holds  them  all  in  its  dark  bed  ;  not  one 
of  them  can  escape  it,  unless  its  light  is  put  out  in  the  heavens  ;  the 
dark  forest  peopled  with  sleeping  ravens,  the  mountains  wooded  for 
centuries,  hasten  to  cover  it  at  least  with  their  gigantic  shadows.  It  is 
in  vain  !  nothing  in  the  world  can  hide  the  Dnieper.  Its  blue  waves 
flow  slowly,  and  the  night  is  as  the  day,  one  can  see  it  as  far  as  the 
human  eye  can  reach.  After  the  cold  of  the  night  it  hurries  and 
embraces  the  shore,  where  it  forms  silver  ripplets,  which  shine  like  the 
edge  of  a  Damascus  sword  ;  after  which,  all  blue,  it  falls  back  into 
sleep.  Then  the  Dnieper  is  beautiful,  and  there  is  no  river  which  is 
equal  to  it  !  But  when,  upon  the  mountains,  the  blue  mists  gather, 
the  dark  forest  is  shaken  to  its  foundations,  the  oaks  snap  asunder,  and 
the  lightning,  furrowing  the  clouds  in  zigzags,  suddenly  lightens  the 
world.  Then  the  Dnieper  is  terrible  !  Its  waves  arise,  roar  and  dash 
themselves  against  the  hills,  and  then  recede  covered  with  foam,  and 
send  forth  their  sad  lamentation  to  the  far  distance.' — Gogol,  '  The 
Horrible  Vengeance. ' 

Crossing  the  valley  beyond  the  old  town,  with  the  street 
which  contains  the  hotels,  we  should  now  ascend  the  pleasant 
brick  pathway  on  the  wooded  hillside  of  Pecherskoe.1 
After  passing  the  gardens  on  the  hill-top,  we  reach  the  gate 
and  bridge  of  the  fortifications  which  Peter  the  Great,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Mentchikdff,  employed  himself  in  building 
whilst  he  was  detained  at  Kieffin  1706.  The  street  within 
is  quite  devoted  to  the  pilgrims,  and  is  lined  with  stalls  of 
crosses,  medals,  and  icons,  many  exceedingly  pretty  and 
very  cheap,  others  only  curious.  The  hermit-saints,  Anthony, 

1  From  its  catacombs,  Petche"ra  meaning  a  cavern  or  crypt. 


462  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

Pachomius,  and  Hilarion,  are  represented  over  and  over 
again.  Such  anchorites  as  these  passed  their  lives  ir\  caves, 
or  in  little  tents  or  cells.  When  many  of  them  were  collected 
together,  they  were  called  by  the  common  name  of  Lavra 
or  Laura.  Frequently  represented  also  is  S.  Paphuntius, 
the  hermit-confessor,  wrhose  speech  at  the  Council  of  Nicaea 
led  to  the  permission,  almost  injunction,  of  marriage  to  the 
clergy  of  the  Eastern  Church. l 

Commonest  of  all  here,  however,  as  everywhere  else  in 
the  country,  is  the  picture  of  S.  Nicholas,  the  favourite 
saint  of  Russian  peasants.  Wallace  narrates  that  a  peasant, 
being  asked  by  a  priest  if  he  could  name  the  three  Persons 
of  the  Trinity,  replied  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  '  How 
can  one  not  know  that,  Batiushka?  Of  course  it  is  the 
Saviour,  the  Mother  of  God,  and  S.  Nicholas  the  miracle- 
worker.' 

The  Pecherskoe  Lavra  is  the  Holy  Place  of  Russia  par 
excellence,  the  first  in  rank  of  all  Russian  monasteries,  and 
the  most  ancient  in  its  origin,  having  been  founded  in  1055. 
It  is  of  all  Russian  monasteries  the  one  which  has  had  the 
greatest  part  in  the  propagation  of  Christianity  throughout 
the  country,  and  was  the  nursery  whence  have  issued  the 
missionaries,  preachers,  and  the  first  writers  of  Christian 
Russia.2 

'  To  a  simple  and  poor  hermit  belongs  the  glory  of  having  been  the 
father  of  religious  celibacy  in  Russia,  and  of  having  made  his  own 
poor  retreat  a  nursery  for  the  monastic  life  ;  and  this  during  a  period 
both  of  many  external  alarms,  and  of  civil  feuds  caused  by  the  three 
sons  of  Yaroslaf,  who  purpled  with  gore  the  soil  of  Russia,  which  was 

1  The  ancient  Lives  of  many  of  these  Russian  saints  (Pate>iki)  so  little  known  out 
of  their  own  country,  but  so  much  venerated  there,  are  very  curious. 

2  Courriere,  Litterature  Contemporaine  en  Russie, 


PECHERSKOE.  463 

only  preserved  by  the  prayers  of  S.  Anthony  and  S.  Theodosius. 
"  Many  monasteries,"  says  Nestor,  as  he  is  describing  the  origin  of 
the  Pecherskoe  Lavra,  "  have  been  founded  by  princes  and  nobles,  and 
by  wealth,  but  they  are  not  such  as  have  been  founded  by  tears,  and 
fasting,  and  prayer,  and  vigil ;  Anthony  had  neither  gold  nor  silver, 
but  he  procured  all  by  prayer  and  fasting." 

'  It  is  very  remarkable  that  at  the  beginning  of  monasticism  in 
Russia  there  should  have  been  a  recurrence  of  the  names  of  those  great 
hermits  Hilarion,  Anthony,  and  Theodosius,  who  once  flourished  in 
the  deserts  of  Palestine  and  Egypt,  and  were  now  reflected,  as  in  a 
mirror,  in  the  pure  lives  of  their  Russian  imitators  and  namesakes. 
The  metropolitan  Hilarion,  when  he  was  as  yet  only  priest  of  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Apostles  in  Berestof,  the  favourite  residence  of  the 
Princes  Vladimir  and  Yaroslaf,  was  accustomed  to  retire  for  seclusion  and 
prayer  into  the  silent  forest  on  the  beautiful  banks  of  the  Dnieper  ;  and 
there,  having  taken  an  affection  to  a  certain  picturesque  site  on  a  hill, 
he  dug  himself  out  a  dark  cave  or  pesch,  the  germ  of  the  future  Lavra, 
and  of  all  the  religious  houses  of  Russia.  Not  long  afterwards  another 
hermit  came  and  settled  himself  in  it,  for  the  place  was  already  conse- 
crated by  the  holy  life  of  Hilarion. 

'  A  man  named  Anthony,  a  native  of  Lubetch  (a  district  south  of 
Kieff)  visited  Mount  Athos,  and  wished  to  remain  there  as  a  monk  : 
but  the  hegumen  who  gave  him  the  tonsure,  as  if  foreseeing  his  lofty 
future,  insisted  on  his  returning  to  his  own  country.  The  humble 
Anthony  obeyed,  and  brought  with  him  the  benediction  of  the  Holy 
Mountain.  He  visited  all  the  monasteries  of  Kieff,  but  his  soul, 
thirsting  for  contemplation,  could  find  for  itself  no  resting-place  except 
in  the  deserted  cave  of  Hilarion.  There  Anthony  established  himself, 
though,  during  the  forty  years  of  his  spiritual  life,  he  was  twice  driven 
away  by  the  disturbances  caused  him  by  the  princes  and  boyars,  who 
soon  discovered  that  he  was  living  in  the  woods  near  Kieff.  The  Great 
Prince  himself,  Isiaslaf,  the  son  of  Yaroslaf,  on  one  occasion  paid  him 
a  visit  with  his  suite  ;  and  the  hermit  foretold  to  him,  and  to  his  two 
brothers,  their  disastrous  defeat  by  the  Poloftsi,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Alta.  Twelve  disciples  having  collected  around  him,  he  set  Barlaam 
over  them  as  hegumen,  and  gave  his  blessing  to  the  commencement  of 
a  wooden  church,  to  be  called  after  the  Rest  or  Assumption  of  the 
Mother  of  God,  on  the  site  of  the  earlier  one,  which  was  subterranean  : 
but  he  himself,  to  avoid  the  interruptions  and  disquietude  of  governing, 
shut  himself  up  in  another  cell,  which  he  had  excavated  at  a  little 
distance,  and  there  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  in  prayer.  But  in  the 


464  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

mean  time,  before  this  took  place,  when  the  Great  Prince  had  takerf 
the  hegumen  Barlaam  to  preside  over  his  newly-founded  monastery  of 
Demetrius,  Anthony  proposed  to  the  brethren  for  their  superior  the 
humble  Theodosius,  who  was  to  have  the  honour  of  finally  establishing 
the  monastery,  and  of  completing  the  blessed  beginning  of  Anthony. 

'  Theodosius,  seeing  the  brethren  continually  multiplying  around 
him,  and  already  amounting  to  a  hundred,  wrote  out  for  them  the  Rule 
of  the  Studium  monastery,  the  strictest  of  all  in  Constantinople,  which 
a  monk,  who  came  with  George,  the  new  metropolitan,  had  brought 
with  him  from  that  city.  The  manner  in  which  the  monks  were  to 
chant,  the  bowings  and  prostrations,  the  reading  and  the  whole  order 
of  church  service,  and  even  their  diet,  was  fixed  by  this  Rule  :  Theo- 
dosius added  to  it  a  supplement  which  consisted  of  spiritual  instructions l 
of  his  own,  on  praying  without  ceasing,  on  the  means  of  preserving 
oneself  from  evil  thoughts,  on  mutual  charity,  obedience,  and  diligence 
in  labour ;  and  it  passed  afterwards  as  a  model  into  all  the  religious 
houses  of  our  country,  many  of  which  were  founded  by  monks  from 
the  Pecherskoe,  while  the  rest  looked  up  to  it,  and  sought  to  imitate 
so  illustrious  an  example. ' — Mouravieff. 

On  reaching  the  gate  of  the  Lavra,  we  see  Anthony  and 
Theodosius,  with  all  their  hermit  followers,  in  fresco,  led  by 
the  Saviour,  who  blesses  the  monastery.2  Crowds  of  pil- 
grims are  perpetually  passing  through  the  narrow  portal, 
and  linger  to  kiss  and  offer  their  kopecks  to  the  picture  of 
the  Rest  of  the  Virgin  (here  really  a  sleep),  just  within  the 
gate. 

We  now  find  ourselves  in  the  immense  court  of  the 
monastery.  The  low  whitewashed  houses  of  the  monks  line 
the  sides.  Behind  are  vast  buildings  for  the  pilgrims.  In 
the  centre  is  the  huge  church,  whitewashed  also,  but  with  a 
frescoed  front.  The  interior  has  an  aspect  of  indescribable 

1  The  Instructions  of  Theodosius  are  one  of  the  earliest  specimens  of  Russian 
literature  in  existence.  The  Life  of  S.  Theodosius  was  written  by  the  chronicler 
Nestor. 

a  A  curious  tiny  '  icon,'  sold  below  the  monastery,  represents  this  picture,  and 
serves  as  an  interesting  memento. 


PECHERSKOE.  465 

antiquity,  colour,  and  beauty.  The  foundation  of  all  the 
colour  is  subdued  ancient  gold,  which  gleams  through  the 
dark  shadows  of  the  heavy  pillars  and  arches  with  effects  of 
light  and  shade  unspeakably  glorious.  The  open  gates  of 
the  iconastos  show  life-size  figures  of  the  Apostles  within. 

'  With  the  assistance  of  Sviatoslaf  (grandson  of  Yaroslaf),  Theo- 
dosius  procured  skilful  workmen  from  Greece,  and  founded  the  spacious 
stone  church  of  the  Rest  of  the  Virgin,  in  the  place  of  the  original  poor 
one  of  wood.  But  like  nearly  all  great  founders,  who  have  seldom 
been  permitted  to  see  the  outward  magnificence  of  their  foundations, 
Theodosius  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  the  inward  beauty  of 
the  Lavra,  and  departed  to  his  rest  in  the  cells  which  he  had  dug  out 
with  Anthony.  His  successors,  Stephen,  and  Nikon,  the  great  assistant 
of  Anthony,  continued  the  building,  which  was  finished  by  the  hegumen 
John,  and  consecrated  before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  the  Great  Prince 
Vsevolod  by  the  metropolitan  John  III.  By  order  of  the  same  hegumen 
the  annalist  Nestor  opened  the  cell  or  cave  in  which  were  the  un- 
corrupted  relics  of  Theodosius,  and  an  assembly  of  bishops  and  princes 
solemnly  translated  them  into  the  new  temple.  The  names  of  Anthony 
and  Theodosius  began  to  be  invoked  in  prayer  from  the  time  of  the 
reign  of  Sviatopolk  as  the  guardians  of  Kieff,  and  the  fathers  of  all  who 
lived  a  life  of  religious  retirement  in  our  country ;  for  the  Lavra  shot 
its  roots  deep  into  the  soil  of  Russia,  and  its  beneficent  influence 
showed  itself  not  only  in  monastic  seclusion,  but  also  in  the  halls  of 
princes  and  on  the  thrones  of  prelates.  It  gave  its  monks  to  the 
Church  ;  Stephen  to  be  bishop  of  Belgorod,  S.  Isaiah  to  be  the  first 
illuminator  of  Rostoff,  S.  Nicetas  to  be  Lord  of  Novogorod,  and, 
according  to  some  accounts,  Ephraim  to  be  metropolitan  of  all  Russia. 
Some  of  them  preached  the  name  of  Christ  to  the  heathen,  and  died 
the  death  of  martyrs  ;  as  Gerasimus,  the  first  illuminator  of  the  savage 
Vess  in  the  northern  districts,  as  Kouksha  and  Pimen,  who  suffered  for 
the  Word  of  God  on  the  banks  of  the  Oka,  while  engaged  in  the  con- 
version of  the  Viatichi.  Others,  whose  names  are  too  many  to  be 
remembered,  and  whose  uncorrupted  bodies  still  tenant  the  same  caves, 
supplied  examples  in  their  seclusion  of  the  practice  of  all  the  virtues. 
Among  these  latter  was  a  son  of  Nicholas,  Prince  of  Chernigoff,  who 
was  surnamed  the  Devout  from  his  sanctity  and  humility.  He,  how- 
ever, was  not  the  first  of  the  Russian  princes  who  adopted  the  monastic 

H  H 


466  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

life  ;  Soudeslaf,  the  unfortunate  son  of  the  great  Vladimir,  who  was 
thrown  into  prison  at  Pskoff  by  his  brother  Yaroslaf,  and  after  twenty- 
eight  years'  confinement  was  set  at  liberty  by  his  nephews,  received  the 
tonsure  in  the  monastery  at  Kieff  before  any  other  of  his  rank,  and  so 
became  the  first  of  the  line  of  princely  recluses  of  our  country.'— 
Mouravieff. 

All  day  long  the  church  is  thronged  with  pilgrims,  some- 
times passing  in  a  crowd  through  the  portals,  of  all  ages, 
colours,  and  costumes.  Soft  litanies  swell  from  distant 
chapels.  We  seem  to  be  witnessing  a  perpetual  diorama  of 
scenes  of  Old  Testament  history  ;  such  patriarchal  figures — • 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Eli,  Jeremiah,  pass  before  one  ;  such  rapt 
reverence  is  seen  in  widowed  mothers  offering  their  children 
before  the  shrines,  or  in  peasant  women  leading  up  their  little 
ones  to  make  their  oblations,  as  recall  Hannah  and  Samuel  ; 
such  groups  of  shepherds  pass  us,  as  might  stand  for  the 
twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  or  the  brethren  of  David. 

In  and  out,  amongst  the  changing  multitude,  flit  the 
priests  with  their  flowing  hair,  or  hair  plaited  into  long 
pig-tails,  and  the  strange  figures  of  begging  nuns  in  black 
robes  and  peaked  hoods.  In  this  Mecca  of  the  Greek 
Orthodox,  there  are  300,000  pilgrims  annually.  At  the  fes- 
tivals of  Trinity  and  the  Assumption,  thousands  sleep  in  the 
woods.  On  the  night  of  August  15,  1872,  there  were 
72,000  sleeping  upon  the  bare  ground.  The  cholera,  when 
it  comes  here,  makes  terrible  ravages.  In  years  of  famine, 
the  number  of  pilgrims  is  doubled,  because  a  visit  to  the 
Lavra  authorises  them  to  beg  for  the  bread  which  is  wanting 
at  home.  In  the  time  of  serfdom,  runaway  serfs  always 
became  pilgrims  ;  they  had  then  a  ready  excuse  for  their 
wanderings,  and  could  always  obtain  alms  for  subsistence. 

The  chief  concourse  of  people  is  around  those  ancient 


PECHERSKOE.  467 

tombs,  often  hung  with  gold  or  silver  cloth  and  sur- 
rounded with  burning  candles,  of  which  the  priest  holds  up 
the  silver  lid  for  an  instant,  that  the  worshippers  may  behold 
the  uncorrupt  body  of  the  saint  within.  This  sign  of  sanctity 
has  been  the  ground  of  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  canonisations  of 
the  Greek  Church.  *  His  uncorrupt  remains  were  found,' 
almost  answers  in  the  Greek  Church,  to  'he  was  canonised' 
in  the  Latin,  and  in  justification  of  this  are  quoted  these 
words  of  the  Psalm,  which  strictly  apply  only  to  our  Saviour  : 
'  Thou  wilt  not  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.' 

In  the  sacristy  a  number  of  curious  relics,  chiefly 
ecclesiastical  vestments  and  plate,  are  shown.  The  church 
has  several  crypts.  In  one  of  them  Rumiantsof  is  buried. 
In  another  the  incorruptible  remains  of  Paul  of  Tobolsk 
repose  in  mitre  and  robes.  His  coffin  is  opened  for  visitors, 
one  rich  covering  after  another  removed,  and  the  aged  face 
and  hands  exposed  under  a  veil. 

Till  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  only 
two  printing-presses  in  Russia  ;  one  was  in  this  convent, 
and  one  at  Moscow.1 

Outside  the  lower  gate  of  the  monastery,  a  gate  near  the 
icon-shops  leads  to  open  downs,  looking  upon  the  faint 
pink  and  blue  distances  of  the  vast  plain  beyond  the  Dnieper. 
We  saw  here  processions  of  departing  pilgrims,  whose 
litanies  long  sounded  through  the  woods ;  and  a  Greek  priest, 
with  flowing  hair,  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  watching 
them,  relieved  like  a  statue  against  the  aerial  distance. 

The  scene  is  one  which  recalls  the  verses  of  Ivan 
Kozlov  : 

1  By  1720  there  were  our  at  S.  Petersburg  and  two  at  Moscow,  and  there  were 
also  printing-presses  at  Novogorod  and  Tchernigov, 

H  H  2 


468  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  O  holy  Kieff !  where  religion  seems 

To  light  a  beacon  for  the  Russian  race, 
Where  the  bright  cross  on  Pecherskoe  gleams 

Like  a  fair  star  which  still  in  heaven  hath  place, 
And  shines  where,  melting  into  distant  air, 

Thy  boundless  pastures  in  the  sunshine  glow, 
And  restless  Dnieper,  hastening  to  the  sea, 

Beneath  thine  ancient  rampart  murmurs  low.3 


THE   HOLY    PLACES   OF    KIF.FF. 


The  star-spangled  towers  and  domes  which  rise  from  the 
woods  eastward  are  those  of  a  separate  group  of  monastic 
buildings,  approached  from  the  principal  monastery  by 
a  gourd-fringed  lane.  Here  are  another  church,  a  little 
cemetery,  and  the  entrance  of  a  long  wooden  gallery,  by 
which  the  pilgrims,  protected  from  weather,  can  go  from  one 
monastic  building  to  another.  We  constantly  attempted  to 
draw  here  and  were  interrupted  by  infuriated  priests  ;  indeed, 
while  taking  each  of  the  sketches  from  which  the  little  wood- 
cuts given  in  these  pages  are  taken,  the  author  was  arrested, 


THE   CATACOMBS  OF  KIEFF. 


469 


and  carried  off  to  a  short  incarceration.  No  amount  of 
interest  with  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical  officials  can  obtain 
the  permission  to  draw  in  Pecherskoe,  and  anywhere  in 
Kieff  it  is  most  difficult. 


BENEATH    THE    PECHERSKOE   MONASTERY, 


Through  the  Church  of  the  Exaltation  we  descend  to 
the  Catacombs.1  A  monk  guides  us  with  candles.  Like  the 
Roman  Catacombs  (in  extremest  miniature),  these  subter- 
raneous passages  are  perfectly  dry,  warm,  airy,  and  not  the 
least  unpleasant.  There  are  two  series  of  caverns,  the  nearer 
dedicated  to  S.  Anthony,  the  further  to  S.  Theodosius. 
They  were  probably  natural  caverns  at  the  first,  and  have 
been  increased  into  a  series  of  chapels  and  passages  in  the 
course  of  ages.  They  are  regular  in  formation,  but  have 

1  There  is  a  very  similar  cave-monastery  at  Pskofif. 


470  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

such  frequent  intersections  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
spend  five  minutes  in  them  without  losing  one's  way.  On 
either  side,  at  intervals,  hollowed  in  the  soft  rock,  are  the 
tombs  of  the  saints,  of  whom  there  are  about  eighty  in  the 
nearer,  and  forty-five  in  the  more  distant  catacombs.  The 
lids  are  left  open  in  some  instances,  and  the  outlines  of  the 
aged  forms  are  visible  beneath  their  brocaded  coverings. 
Formerly  the  bodies  were  uncovered.  Travellers  speak  of 
the  colour  of  their  faces  and  hands,  now  only  one  offers  his 
withered  black  hand  to  the  kisses  of  the  faithful.  After 
six  centuries  these  bodies  are  said  to  be  perfectly  preserved, 
the  'incorruptibility'  of  saints  being  the  reward  of  their 
virtues. 

'  Ce  meme  reduit,  qui  avait  ete  leur  cellule,  est  devenu  leur  torn- 
beau  ;  c'est  la  qu'ils  sont  couches  dans  leur  robe  de  moine,  avec  leurs 
cilices  et  leurs  chaines  de  fer,  attendant  la  trompette  du  jugement.  Le 
plus  etonnant  de  tons  ces  ascetes,  c'est  Jean,  le  "  grand -martyr." 
Pour  dompter  sa  chair,  bien  qu'il  restat  des  semaines  sans  manger,  il 
avait  imagine  de  s'enterrer  jusqu'a  mi-corps  ;  c'est  dans  cette  situation 
que  la  mort  1'a  surpris  et  que  nous  le  retrouvons.  Rien  d'effrayant 
comme  de  voir  dans  1'ombre  de  cette  caverne  cette  tete  et  ce  buste 
sortir  de  terre.  Les  penitents  de  la  Theba'ide  et  les  fakirs  de  FHindou- 
stan  n'ont  rien  invente  de  plus  formidable.  Le  caractere  oriental  de 
ces  tortures  volontaires  eclate  aux  yeux  ;  il  semble  voir,  comme  dans  le 
Ramaydnct)  le  ciel  et  la  terre  contempler  stupefaits  ces  terribles 
penitences,  et  les  dieux  memes  tremblant  qu'a  force  d'accumuler  des 
merites  1'anachorete  ne  finisse  par  leur  disputer  le  ciel.  Les  mougiks 
de  Kief  se  sont  fait  une  legende  a  son  propos  :  ils  assurent  que  Jean 
s'enfonce  chaque  jour  en  terre,  et  que,  lorsqu'il  y  disparaitra,  ce  sera  la 
fin  du  monde.' — A.  Rambaud,  '•Revue  des  Deux  MondesJ  1874. 

Near  each  tomb  is  inscribed  the  name  of  the  dead,  with  a 
brief  description  of  what  he  was  when  living.  Thus  we 
find  S.  Anthony,  the  abbot  of  the  Lavra  ;  S.  Niphontius, 


THE   CATACOMBS  OF  KIEFF.  471 

archbishop  of  Novogorod,  who  died  on  his  way  to  meet 
the  metropolitan  of  Constantinople  ;  S.  Luke,  the  thrifty  ; 
S.  Gregory,  the  icon-painter  ;  S.  Agapitus,  the  gratuitous 
physician  ;  S.  Mark,  the  catacomb-digger ;  S.  Onesiphorus, 
the  confessor ;  S.  Jerome,  the  far-sighted  prophet  ;  S. 
Onofrius,  the  silent ;  S.  Pimenus,  the  faster  ;  S.  Abraham, 
the  laborious  ;  S.  Isaac,  the  miracle-worker. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  graves  is  that  of  Nestor,  the 
chronicler,  who  lived  from  1056  to  1116,  and  became  a 
monk  here  in  his  seventeenth  year.  He  occupies  much  the 
same  place  in  the  history  of  Russia  which  the  Venerable 
Bede  holds  in  our  own.  He  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as 
the  first  Russian  annalist,  but  rather  as  the  first  compiler  of 
the  collections  of  chronicles  which  already  existed  in  the 
great  centres  of  primitive  Russia.  The  work  of  Nestor  has 
not  come  down  to  us  in  its  original  form,  the  most  ancient 
of  its  copies  only  dating  from  the  fourteenth  century.1  His 
great  merit  is  that  he  hands  down  to  posterity  the  early 
history  of  the  house  of  Rurik  and  of  the  first  Great  Princes 
of  Kieff.  His  chronicle  is  a  strange  mixture  of  important 
and  trivial  events,  like  the  writings  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.2 

It  is  a  surprise  to  come,  in  the  catacombs  of  Kieff,  upon 
the  tomb  of  Ilia  Mourometz,  a  hero  of  the  time  of  Vladimir, 
celebrated  in  innumerable  legends  and  songs,  which  describe 
him  as  the  Hercules,  the  Samson  of  Russia,  who  is  here 
become  a  saint.  It  is  also  with  an  aureole  on  his  forehead, 
hands  lifted  to  heaven,  and  a  body  half- naked  like  a  hermit, 
that  he  is  represented  in  an  engraving  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  the  village 

1  Courriere. 

2  See  the  Chronicle  of  Nestor,  edited  by  Miklosich.     Vienna,  1860. 


472  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

of  Karatchovo,  and  to  have  had  a  real  existence  in  the  twelfth 
century. 

'  Ses  reliques  sont  aujourd'hui  cousues  dans  une  sorte  de  gaine  en 
brocard  ;  mais  anciennement,  comme  celles  des  autres  saints  des  cata- 
combes,  on  les  exposait  aux  regards  du  public.  Un  pelerin  de  1701 
les  a  vues  et  touchees  :  "  J'ai  vu,  dit-il,  sous  une  voile  d'or,  le  corps 
incorruptible  du  vaillant  guerrier  Ilia  de  Mourom.  Sa  taille  est  celle 
des  gens  robustes  d'aujourd'hui,  sa  main  gauche  est  disposee  comme 
pour  faire  le  signe  de  la  croix."  Le  voila  reduit  a  de  bien  humaines 
proportions,  le  heros  qui,  d'un  poignet  si  fort,  arrachait  tous  les  chenes 
d'une  foret  et  maniait  aisement  une  massue  de  1600  livres.  .  .  .  Son 
droit  a  la  saintete  est  acquis  par  le  fait  qu'il  a  souvent  pris  les  armes 
uniquement  "pour  le  peuple  chretien  et  pour  les  eglises  de  Dieu."  ' 
Ranibaiid,  'La  Russie  Epique."1 

About  many  of  the  tombs  singular  legends  are  preserved. 
There  is  one  of  two  brothers.  They  had  promised  one  another 
to  share  the  same  grave.  One  died  long  after  the  other,  but 
when  his  body  was  carried  to  the  sepulchre,  the  brother 
who  was  buried  first  lifted  himself  up  in  his  coffin,  and  made 
room  for  him.  There  is  the  tomb  of  a  bishop  which  is  said 
to  have  floated  on  the  Dnieper  to  the  walls  of  the  monastery 
from  Smolensk,  where  he  died.  In  one  sarcophagus  rest 
twelve  masons,  who  came  to  build  the  monastery,  and,  after 
their  work  was  finished,  received  the  tonsure  there.  Here 
also  are  miraculous  skulls  which  sweat  a  supernatural  oil 
which  is  a  cure  for  all  maladies,  and  a  column  which  has 
the  power  of  restoring  reason  to  any  mad  people  who  are 
bound  to  it.  A  reality  more  strange  than  all  legends,  are 
the  cells  without  any  opening.  They  were  made  by 
anchorites,  who  walled  themselves  up  with  their  own  hands, 
keeping  up  no  communication  with  the  outer  world,  or 
even  with  their  religious  brethren,  except  by  the  wicket 


THE   CATACOMBS  OF  KIEFF. 


473 


through  which  their  daily  provisions  were  given  them. 
When  they  died,  which  was  naturally  very  soon,  the  com- 
munity came  to  this  wicket,  said  the  prayers  for  the  dead, 
and  walled  it  up. 

From  time  to  time  the  catacomb  enlarges,  and  one  finds 
oneself  in  a  little  church  with  a  low  vault  and  miniature 
iconastos,  or  in  a  vault  which  has,  for  its  situation,  the  singular 


THE   HOLY   CHAPEL   OF    KIEFF. 


destination  of  a  refectory.  Here  is  preserved  an  antique  cross 
of  which  the  edges  are  raised  so  that  it  forms  a  drinking-cup, 
and  which  is  called  the  cup  of  S.  Mark  the  gravedigger.  In 
the  further  catacomb  is  the  body  of  a  princess  in  satin  shoes, 
as  if  emerging  from  a  ball,  but  wrhich  partakes  with  those 
of  the  monks  the  privilege  of  incorruptibility.1 

1  This  account  of  the  Catacombs  is  chiefly  indebted  to  the  writings  of  Alfred 
Rambaud.  This  is  especially  the  case  as  regards  the  names,  so  difficult  to  make  out 
to  pne  very  slightly  acquainted  with  Russian. 


474  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

In  the  wooded  hollow  beneath  the  catacombs  is  the  holy 
well  of  the  hermit  S.  Anthony,  believed  to  have  miraculous 
powers,  reached  by  wooden  steps  from  the  porch  of  the 
church. 

Below  the  lavra  is  the  mound  called  Askold's  tomb, 
where  a  Christian  Varagian  prince  is  buried. 

'  Two  of  the  compatriots  of  Rurik,  Ask  old  and  Dir,  who  perhaps 
had  cause  of  complaint  against  that  prince,  left  Novogorod,  with  many 
of  their  companions,  to  seek  their  fortunes  at  Constantinople.  But,  on 
their  way,  they  perceived  a  little  town  built  on  the  highest  part  of  the 
bank  of  the  Dnieper,  and  inquired  to  whom  it  belonged.  They  were 
informed  that  it  had  been  founded  by  three  brothers,  long  since  dead, 
and  that  it  was  inhabited  by  a  peaceful  people,  who  paid  tribute  to  the 
Khozars  :  this  town  was  Kieff.  Askold  and  Dir  took  possession  of  it, 
and  began,  under  the  name  of  Russians,  to  reign  as  sovereigns  in 
Kiefi;  ...  In  882,  the  ambitious  views  of  Oleg,  regent  at  Novogorod 
during  the  minority  of  his  nephew  Igor,  son  of  Rurik,  was  excited  by 
the  report  of  the  independent  power  which  Askold  and  Dir  had 
founded,  as  well  as  by  the  delicious  climate  and  other  advantages  of 
the  soil  which  Little  Russia  offered.  Meanwhile,  as  it  was  possible 
that  Askold  and  Dir,  at  the  head  of  a  strong  army,  would  not  freely 
submit,  and  as  the  idea  was  obnoxious  of  a  battle  with  fellow-country- 
men equally  skilled  in  the  art  of  war,  Oleg  determined  to  employ 
treachery.  Having  left  his  army  behind  him,  accompanied  only  by 
the  young  Igor  and  several  followers,  he  landed  under  the  steep  bank 
of  the  Dnieper,  where  the  ancient  Kieff  was  situated.  Having  taken 
the  precaution  of  concealing  his  soldiers  in  the  boats,  he  sent  word  to 
the  princes  of  Kieff  that  some  Varagian  merchants,  sent  to  Greece  by 
the  prince  of  Novogorod,  wished  to  see  them  as  friends  and  fellow- 
countrymen.  Askold  and  Dir,  not  suspecting  any  ambush,  hastened 
to  the  shore.  In  an  instant  they  were  surrounded  by  the  men  of  Oleg, 
who  cried,  "  You  are  no  princes,  nor  even  of  noble  birth  ;  but  I  am  a 
prince,  and,"  showing  them  Igor,  "this  is  the  son  of  Rurik."  At 
these  words,  which  were  their  sentence  of  death,  Askold  and  Dir, 
pierced  by  blows,  fell  lifeless  at  the  feet  of  Oleg.  The  simplicity  of 
manners  in  the  ninth  century  permits  one  to  believe  that  these  false 
merchants  could  thus  persuade  the  princes  of  Kieff  to  come  to  meet 
them  ;  but  even  the  barbarism  which  was  common  at  this  period  could 


PERENOVO    TSVETJE.  475 

not  excuse  such  perfidious  treachery.  The  bodies  of  the  unfortunate 
princes  were  buried  on  the  hill,  where,  in  the  time  of  Nestor,  the 
castle  of  a  certain  Olma  existed.  The  bones  of  Dir  reposed  behind 
the  Church  of  S.  Irene,  and  upon  the  tomb  of  Askold  rose  the  Church 
of  S.  Nicholas,  the  site  of  which  is  still  shown  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Kieff  on  the  bank  of  the  Dnieper,  below  the  monastery  of  S.  Nicholas, 
at  the  spot  where  a  little  church  is  seen  buried  in  the  earth.'— 
Karanisin,  vol.  i. 


Beyond  the  Pecherskoe  monastery  are  many  of  'the 
lovely  lanes  of  Kieff  overshadowed  by  cherry  gardens  '  de- 
scribed by  Gogol.  Near  the  river  bank  grows  the  fern  called 
Perenovo  Tsvetje,  or  Peroun's  Flower,  and  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  magic  blossoms,  which  appear  on  Easter  Day 
and  S.  John's  Day  at  midsummer. 

'  Its  golden  or  fiery  blossoms  disappear  almost  instantaneously,  for 
evil  spirits  swarm  thickly  around  them  and  carry  them  off.  Whoever 
can  gather  these  flowers  will  be  able  to  read  the  secrets  of  the  earth, 
and  no  treasures  can  be  concealed  from  him.  But  to  obtain  them  is  a 
difficult  task.  The  best  way  is  to  take  a  cloth  on  which  an  Easter  cake 
has  been  blessed,  and  the  knife  with  which  the  cake  has  been  cut,  and 
then  go  into  the  forest  on  Easter  Eve,  trace  a  circle  with  the  knife 
around  the  fern,  spread  out  the  cloth,  and  sit  down  within  the  circle 
with  eyes  steadily  fixed  upon  the  plant.  Just  at  the  moment  when  the 
words  "  Christ  is  arisen  !  "  are  sung  in  the  churches,  the  fern  will 
blossom.  The  watcher  should  then  seize  it  and  run  home,  having 
covered  himself  with  the  cloth,  and  taking  care  not  to  look  behind 
him.  When  he  has  reached  home  he  should  cut  his  hand  with  the 
knife,  and  insert  the  plant  into  the  wound.  Then  all  secret  things  will 
become  visible  to  him.' — Ralston ,  'Songs  of  the  Russian  People, ,' 

Amongst  the  many  traces  of  the  old  religion  which  still 
remain  at  Kieff  is  one  which  recalls  the  worship  of  Lada, 
the  goddess  of  Joy,  Love,  and  Spring,  to  whom  betrothed 
couples  used  to  offer  sacrifice. 


476  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'  In  Lithuania  and  in  Samogitia  the  people  celebrated  in  her  honour 
festivals,  which  lasted  from  May  25  to  June  25  ;  the  fathers  and  hus- 
bands spent  them  in  the  public-houses,  the  wives  and  the  daughters  in 
the  streets  or  in  the  midst  of  the  fields  :  they  held  each  other  by  the 
hand  and  danced,  singing,  "  Lada!  Lada!  didiz  Lada!"  * — that  is  to 
say,  "great  Lada  ! "  This  custom  still  exists  in  our  villages,  where  the 
young  women  assemble  in  spring-time  to  amuse  themselves,  and  sing  in 
a  circle,  Lada,  didi  Lada  I ' — Karamsin. 

The  twenty-fourth  of  December  was  the  day  on  which  the 
pagan  Russians  celebrated  the  feast  of  Koliada,  the  goddess 
of  Peace,  and  still  on  Christmas  Eve,  when  labourers'  children 
assemble  under  the  windows  of  rich  peasants,  they  ask  for 
money  with  songs  in  which  the  name  of  Koliada  is  still 
heard.2 

Ten  kilometres  from  Kieff  are  the  curious  kourganes  of 
Gatnoe.  One  of  these,  called  the  '  Wolfs  Grave,'  was  opened 
during  the  Archeological  Congress  of  1874.  Skeletons,  vases, 
and  implements  were  found.  Hundreds,  even  thousands,  of 
these  tumuli  are  seen  in  descending  the  Dnieper,  of  which 
the  flat,  sandy  banks  and  colourless  waters  might  otherwise 
seem  uninteresting,  though  Gogol  teaches  us  how  to  see 
their  beauties  : — 


'  How  delightful  it  is,  from  the  midst  of  the  Dnieper,  to  gaze  upon 
the  lofty  hills,  the  vast  prairies,  and  the  verdant  forests  !  These  hills 
are  not  hills  :  they  have  no  base  :  below,  as  above,  they  have  a  pointed 
summit  ;  below,  as  above,  is  seen  the  limitless  sky.  The  forests  which 
are  marshalled  on  these  hills  are  not  forests  :  they  are  the  hair  which 
has  grown  from  the  huge  head  of  a  wood  demon.  Below,  his  beard 
floats  upon  the  water,  and  under  his  beard,  as  over  his  hair,  the  limit- 
less sky  is  seen.  These  prairies  are  not  prairies  :  it  is  a  green  girdle 
which  encircles  the  round  heaven  ;  and  below,  as  above,  shimmers  the 
moon. ' 

1  S.  Parascevia  is  regarded  as  the  Christian  successor  of  Lada. 
-  See  KaraniMn. 


VY.CHEGOROD.  477 

The  village  of  Vitatchevo,  in  an  angle  of  the  river,  has 
earthen  ramparts  :  the  bank  has  a  height  of  400  feet. 
Further  on,  beneath  the  site  of  the  convent  of  Traktomirof^ 
living  persons  have  seen  catacombs  filled  with  the  tombs  of 
hermits,  but  their  entrance  is  lost.  Vychegorod,  which  is  said 
to  have  owed  its  existence  to  a  brother  of  the  fabulous  Kii, 
the  founder  of  Kieff,  was  a  favourite  residence  of  S.  Olga, 
the  Christian  grandmother  of  Vladimir,  and  was  the  place 
where,  before  his  conversion,  he  kept  a  harem  of  500 
women.  Here  Boris  and  Gleb,  the  two  sons  of  Vladimir  by 
one  of  his  many  wives,  murdered  by  their  brother  Sviato- 
polk,  were  buried.  Their  deaths  took  place  at  different 
times  and  places — that  of  Boris  in  his  camp  on  the  Alta 
whilst  he  was  in  the  act  of  prayer,  that  of  Gleb  in  a  boat  on 
the  Dnieper  near  Smolensk  l — but  the  Church  has  made  of 
them  an  orthodox  Dioscuri,  as  inseparable  as  Castor  and 
Pollux. 

It  was  at  Vychegorod  that  the  great  Yaroslaf  died  in 
1054,  employing  his  last  moments  in  imploring  his  children 
to  evade  the  dissensions  which  have  been  so  often  fatal  to 
his  family  and  country.  Here  also  the  Grand  Prince  Vsevolod 
Olgovitch  died  in  1146,  having  in  vain  invoked  the  succour 
of  Boris  and  Gleb  ;  and  the  Grand  Prince  Sviatoslaf  in  1195, 
having  caused  himself  to  be  brought  hither  from  Kieff  with 
the  same  object. 

The  gorodichtche  have  bricks  of  the  seventh  century,  which 
may  have  belonged  to  the  palace  of  Olga.  The  adjoining 
church  was  dedicated  to  the  two  brothers  by  Ysiaslaf,  the 
ancient  church  of  Yaroslaf  having  been  destroyed  by  the 
pagans,  and  their  relics  were  brought  hither  on  the  shoulders  of 

1  Karamsin. 


478  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

the  princes  of  the  royal  house.  The  picture  of  Christ  on 
the  iconastos  bears  the  mark  of  a  Tartar  lance ;  the 
Madonna  which  was  its  pendant,  cut  through  with  a  sabre, 
is  now  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Kieff. 

'  Le  village  moderne  est  bien  aussi  curieux  que  le  gorodichtchl. 
Qu'on  imagine  un  terrain  decoupe,  dechiquete  par  les  ravins,  des 
masures  a  toits  de  chaume  plus  herisses  encore  que  dans  la  Grande- 
Russie,  les  enclos  formes  de  claies  d'osier,  de  derriere  lesquels  vous 
epient  des  jeunes  filles  aux  yeux  noirs  avec  une  botte  de  fleurs  arti- 
ficielles  sur  la  tete,  des  vieilles  qui  parcourent  a  fond  de  train  des 
families  de  pourceaux  a  1'air  farouche,  et  qui  ont  une  criniere  comme 
ies  sangliers— voila  le  type  de  tous  les  villages  que  nous  avons  visites 
sur  le  Dnieper.' — A.  Rambaud^  'Revue  des  Deux  MondesJ  1874. 1 

Near  Kieff  the  land  is  sterile,  but  further  away  the  vege- 
tation is  so  luxuriant  in  the  early  summer  that  one  may  be 
lost  in  the  verdure.  Popular  poetry  describes  the  joy  of 
the  Cossack  as  he  gallops  over  the  grassy  sea,  with  only  the 
sun  to  guide  him. 

'  The  steppe  had  long  ago  received  them  in  its  green  embrace  ;  and 
its  high  grass,  encircling  them,  had  hidden  them  so  that  only  their 
black  Cossacks'  caps  were  now  and  then  to  be  seen  above  it.' — Gogol ', 
'•Tarass  Boolba'  * 

The  charm  and  yet  the  oppressive  monotony  of  the 
steppe  are  expressed  by  the  poet  Koltsov  (1809-1842):— 

'  The  steppe  had  a  fresh  fascination  for  me,  and  the  devil  knows 
how  madly  I  loved  her.  How  beautiful  she  was,  and  with  what 
enthusiasm  I  sang  "  The  Time  of  Love."  This  song  was  appropriate 
to  her.  But  later  on  the  steppe  wearied  me.  She  delights  for  a  time ; 
suddenly,  but  not  for  long.  I  came  to  see  her  ;  then  I  went  back  to 

1  See  also  The  An  lent  Towns  and  Gorodichtche  of  Russia,  by  M.  Somokvassof. 
Moscow,  1874. 

Cossack  Tales  of  Nicholas  Gogdl.     Translated  by  George  Tolstoy. 


CUSTOMS   OF  THE    UKRAINE.  479 

the  town,  to  the  whirl  of  life,  to  the  strife  of  passions  !     For  the  steppe 
by  herself  is  too  uniform,  too  silent.' 

Here,  in  Southern  Russia,  the  nights  of  summer  are  far 
more  beautiful  than  the  days: — 

'  Do  you  know  the  nights  of  the  Ukraine  ?  No,  you  do  not  know 
them  !  See  !  the  moon  looks  down  from  the  midst  of  heaven,  the 
infinite  celestial  vault  extends,  increases,  and  becomes  yet  more  infinite  ; 
it  burns  and  breathes ;  all  the  earth  gleams  with  silvery  lustre  ;  the  air 
is  wonderful,  at  once  fresh  and  overpowering,  full  of  sweetness  ;  it  is 
an  ocean  of  perfumes.  Divine  night  !  magical  night  !  The  forests, 
full  of  shade,  are  motionless,  and  cast  their  vast  shadows.  The  pools 
are  calm  ;  the  cold  and  darkness  of  their  waters  lie  mournfully 
enclosed  in  the  dark  green  walls  of  the  gardens.  The  virgin  thickets 
of  young  cherry  trees  timidly  stretch  their  roots  into  the  chill  earth, 
and  from  time  to  time  shake  their  leaves,  as  if  they  were  angry  and 
indignant  that  beautiful  Zephyr,  the  wind  of  night,  glides  suddenly 
towards  them  and  covers  them  with  kisses.  All  the  landscape  sleeps. 
On  high  all  breathes,  all  is  beautiful,  solemn.  The  vastness  and 
wondrousness  possess  the  soul ;  and  crowds  of  silvery  visions  emerge 
softly  from  their  hiding-places.  Divine  night !  Magical  night !  Suddenly, 
all  comes  to  life  :  the  forests,  the  pools,  the  steppes.  The  majestic 
voice  of  the  nightingale  of  the  Ukraine  sounds  forth,  and  it  seems  as  if 
the  moon,  to  listen  to  it,  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  the  heaven.  The 
village,  as  if  entranced,  reposes  upon  the  height  ;  the  group  of  cottages 
becomes  more  luminous  under  the  rays  of  the  moon  ;  their  low  walls 
become  more  brilliantly  relieved  against  the  darkness.  Now  the  song 
has  ceased.  All  is  silent.  Some  narrow  windows  are  still  lighted 
up.  Behind  others,  a  family,  up  late,  is  at  supper.' — Gogol. 

Many  of  the  popular  customs  still  observed  in  the 
Ukraine  are  very  interesting. 

'  The  marriage  ceremonies  are  very  peculiar  :  the  bride  chooses  a 
number  of  pretty  young  girls,  who  are  obliged  to  be  present  and  offi- 
ciate :  they  carry  wax-lights  fastened  upon  small  boards,  one  end  of 
which  is  cut  into  the  shape  of  a  horse's  head  and  ornamented  with 
flowers ;  the  lights  continue  burning  till  they  bring  the  bride  to  the 
house  of  her  husband,  when  all  are  extinguished. 


480  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

'At  funerals  the  church  bells  are  rung,  and  the  dead  are  carried  to 
the  grave  with  flags  flying.  There  are  often  no  cemeteries,  and  the 
bodies  are  buried  in  the  gardens.  In  the  churchyards  in  towns  the 
graves  are  often  walled  by  crosses  four  or  five  feet  high. 

'  All  kinds  of  charms  are  used,  and  witchcraft  is  practised  ;  man- 
ners and  customs,  perhaps  as  old  as  the  people  themselves,  have  been 
retained,  some  of  them  probably  from  heathen  times.  Thus,  for  in- 
stance, on  Kassali,  or  Midsummer  Eve  (the  evening  before  St.  John's 
Day),  the  young  girls,  decked  with  wreaths  of  flowers  and  grasses, 
assemble  beside  a  piece  of  water,  kindle  a  fire,  and  pace  round  it  sing- 
ing certain  songs,  and  then  jump  wildly  backwards  and  forwards 
through  the  flames.  In  winter,  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  freeze,  the 
young  people  and  children  walk  before  the  windows  begging  cakes  and 
nuts.  On  Christmas  Eve  (called  here,  as  in  the  old  Roman  Catholic 
parts  of  Germany,  Holy  Evening),  the  old  men  of  the  village,  sur- 
rounded by  the  rest  of  the  people,  sing  hymns  before  the  windows 
of  the  houses.  In  the  spring,  boys  and  girls  assemble  on  the  first  spots 
where  the  snow  has  disappeared,  and  sing  the  so-called  Songs  of 
Spring.  Generally  speaking,  there  are  peculiar  songs  for  every  season 
of  the  year,  which  are  sung  in  the  week-day  evenings,  when  young  and 
old  are  collected  together.  During  holidays,  the  singing  is  nearly 
incessant,  with  the  men,  however,  much  less  than  with  the  women  and 
children.' — ffaxthausen,  '  The  Russian  Empire.'' 

In  everything  connected  with  religion  the  most  extra- 
ordinary simplicity  prevails,  but  it  is  not  irreverent. 

'  The  blacksmith  Vakoola  had  painted  the  devil  in  hell  upon  the 
wall  which  is  to  your  left  when  you  step  into  the  church.  The  devil 
had  such  an  odious  face  that  no  one  could  refrain  from  spitting  as  they 
passed  by.  The  women,  as  soon  as  their  children  began  to  cry,  brought 
them  to  this  picture  and  said,  "  Look  !  is  he  not  an  odious  creature  ?" 
and  the  children  stopped  their  tears,  looked  sideways  at  this  picture, 
and  clung  more  closely  to  their  mother's  bosom.' — Gogol,  '•Night  of 
Christmas  Eve? 

The  fire  flies,  so  beautiful  at  night,  are  looked  upon  as 
the  souls  of  unbaptised  children.  Through  the  steppes  are 
supposed  to  roam  the  terrible  werewolves — human  creatures, 


SOArGS   OF  THE    UKRAINE.  481 

often  witches,  transformed  into  animals  ;  to  them  storms, 
famines,  and  droughts  are  often  attributed.  There  is  a 
tradition  that  if  a  werewolf  can  be  touched  with  a  pitchfork 
or  a  flail,  he  immediately  assumes  his  human  form.1 

Throughout  Little  Russia  the  peasants  express  to  each 
other  the  kindly  wish,  '  God  grant  that  the  earth  may  lie 
light  on  you,  and  that  your  eyes  may  see  Christ.' 2 

The  songs  of  the  Little  Russians  are  full  of  human  feeling. 

'  Les  habitants  cle  1'Ukraine,  vetus  de  rouge,  yinrent  nous  chanter 
cles  airs  de  leur  pays,  singulierement  agreables,  tantot  gais,  tantot 
melancoliques,  tantot  1'un  et  1'autre  tout  ensemble.  Ces  airs  cessent 
quelquefois  brusquement  au  milieu  de  la  melodic,  comme  si  1'imagina- 
tion  de  ces  peuples  se  fatiguait  a  terminer  ce  qui  lui  plaisait  d^abord 
ou  trouvait  plus  piquant  de  suspendre  le  charme  dans  le  noment  meme 
oil  il  s'agit  avec  le  plus  de  puissance.  C'est  ainsi  que  la  sultane  des 
Mille  et  une  Nuits  interrompt  toujours  son  recit,  lorsque  1'interet  est 
le  plus  vif. '  —  Madame  de  Stall. 

Amongst  the  oldest  ballads  many  relate  to  the  marvellous 
feats  of  Volga  Vseslavitch,  who  is  the  Prince  Cleg  of  the 
Chronicle  of  Nestor. 

'  La  ville  de  Kief  est  menacee  par  le  roi  des  Indes,  ou  par  le  sultan  des 
Turcs,  suivant  les  variantes.  Volga  arme  contre  lui  sa  droujina.  Avant 
tout  il  faudrait  savoir  ce  que  medite  le  sultan.  Volga  delibere  avec  ses 
compagnons  pour  decider  qui  1'on  enverra  en  eclaireur.  Si  1'on  envoie 
quelqu'un  des  vieux,  il  faudra  1'attendre  trop  longtemps  ;  quelqu'un  de 
1'age  mur,  il  se  laissera  enivrer  par  le  vin  ;  quelqu'un  de  jeuae,  il  s'amu- 
sera  avec  les  jeunes  filles  et  bavardera  avec  les  vieilles.  Decidement 
Volga  partira  lui-meme.  II  se  transforme  en  petit  oiseau,  ole  sous  les 
nues  et  arrive  a  Tsarigrad.  II  se  pose  sur  la  fenetre  du  sultan  et  en- 
tend  toute  sa  conversation  avec  la  sultane. 

'  Le  Tsar  projette  d'envahir  la  Russie,  d'y  conquerir  neuf  villes 
pour  doter  ses  neufs  fils.  II  promet  a  sa  favorite  une  pelisse  neuve. 
Alors  Volga  Vseslavitch  se  transforme  en  hermine  pour  se  glisser  dans 

1  Ralston,  Songs  oftJie  Russian  People,  p.  432.  2  Idem. 

I  I 


482  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

1'arsenal  du  sultan  :  la,  comme  ces  rats  dont  parle  Herodote,  qui  a  la 
voix  d'un  pretre  Egyptian  desarmerent  une  armee  d'envahisseurs,  il 
ronge  les  cordes  des  arcs,  arrache  aux  fleches  leurs  pointes  d'acier  ; 
meme  dans  certaines  variantes,  il  brise  les  chiens  des  fusils  et  mouille 
les  tonneaux  de  poudre.  Puis,  transforme  en  loup,  il  court  aux  ecuries 
et  coupe  la  gorge  a  tons  les  coursiers.  Le  royaume  des  Indes  et  la 
terre  de  Turquie  sont  maintenant  a 'la  merci  de  sa  droujina.  Elle 
massacre  le  sultan  et  la  sultane,  extermine  toute  la  population,  a  1'ex- 
ception  des  belles  jeunes  filles  ;  elle  egorge  enfants  et  vieillards,  "  n'en 
laissant  meme  pas  pour  la  semence,"  et  revient  en  Russie  chargee  de 
butin.' — Rambaiid,  '  La  Russie  Epiqtie.' 

Another  hero  of  Slavonic  legends  is  Nikita  Selianino- 
vitch,  a  young  Hercules,  the  type  of  physical  strength. 
When  Volga  and  none  of  his  droujina  (company)  are  able 
to  lift  a  plough,  he  raises  it  by  a  touch  and  flings  it  sky- 
wards. 

At  Kanev,  near  Kieff,  a  tumulus  marks  the  grave  of  the 
truly  national  poet  Tarns  Shevchenko,  whose  verses  repro- 
duce all  the  most  interesting  traditions  of  the  Ukraine. 

Antiquarians  will  proceed  from  the  Kieff  to  visit  the 
Cathedral  of  Tchernigov,  which,  founded  by  Prince  Mistislaf, 
in  the  reign  of  Yaroslaf  the  Great,  is  '  the  most  ancient  of 
all  the  sacred  edifices  of  Russia.' !  More  than  any  church 
of  its  age,  this  retains  its  original  character  externally.  It  is 
square,  with  a  central  dome,  surrounded  by  four  satellite 
cupolas  :  to  the  east  are  three  apses,  and  the  narthex  is 
flanked  by  two  round  towers. 

1  See  Mouravieff's  History  of  the  Church  of  Russia,  ch.  ii. 


433 


CHAPTER   X. 

A    GLIMPSE   OF  POLAND. 

WEARY  indeed  is  the  journey  from  Kieff  to  Warsaw  ; 
at  the  best  two  days  and  a  night  in  a  heaving,  swaying 
train,  in  carriages  fall  of  people  spitting  and  smoking  rancid 
tobacco.  At  Kaziatin  there  is  a  junction  with  the  Odessa 
train.  The  country  is  almost  all  forest.  Our  only  variety 
was  when  the  train  stopped  at  midnight  near  some  forest 
huts  to  set  down  some  sportsmen,  who  were  going  to  hunt 
wolves.  They  '  should  kill  many  before  morning,'  they  said. 
A  number  of  sportsmen  surround  a  district,  hiding  meat, 
which  the  wolves  scent,  and  then  come  towards  the  guns. 
They  are  seldom  dangerous,  unless,  as  is  often  the  case,  they 
go  mad  ;  then  they  rush  along,  biting  everything  they  meet, 
and  everything  bitten  dies.  Thirty  peasants  had  lately  been 
bitten  by  a  wolf  in  a  village  on  this  line,  and  every  case 
had  been  fatal. 

Russian  trains  are  never  obliged  to  keep  any  time,  and 
passengers  are  quite  at  the  mercy  of  conductors,  and  their 
whims  for  staying  at  the  different  stations.  We  were  three 
hours  behind  time  at  Brest,  and  the  Warsaw  train  was  gone. 
Five  hours  to  wait  !  Most  wretched  was  the  almost  fastid 
station,  yet  the  broad  so-called  '  streets '  of  the  miserable 


484  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

town  outside  were  more  than  a  foot  deep  in  sand,  or  mud- 
like  a  ploughed  field  after  months  of  rain.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  nothing  for  it,  but,  in  the  impossibility  of  enduring 
the  station,  to  labour  on  as  far  as  a  deserted  public-garden— 
a  field  planted  with  groups  of  lilacs,  which  cows  were  nib- 
bling— two  miles  distant.  Here,  merely  for  want  of  something 
to  do,  the  writer  began  to  sketch  a  shed-  and  a  willow-tree. 
Instantly  two  soldiers  pounced  out  from  the  bushes,  behind 
which  they  had  been  following  him,  seized  him,  and  he  was 
marched  off  to  the  guard-room,  where  a  ridiculous  little 
officer  put  him  through  all  the  absurd  official  catechism  of 
his  age,  birthplace,  names  and  ages  of  parents,  objects  in 
coming  to  Russia,  object  in  being  at  Brest,  and,  above  all, 
object  in  sketching  that  particular  shed  and  willow- tree. 
'Had  he  a  passport?'  'Why  was  it  not  in  his  pocket?' 
1  If  it  really  existed  and  was  at  the  station,  he  must  be  sent 
to  fetch  it ; '  and  in  the  burning  sun  he  was  inarched  back 
through  the  mud,  between  the  soldiers,  to  bring  it.  Mean- 
time the  sketch-book  containing  the  obnoxious  drawing  was 
confiscated,  though,  when  the  prisoner  was  led  back  to  the 
guard-room,  he  instantly  espied  it  abandoned  on  a  stool,  sat 
down  upon  it,  and  whilst  his  second  cross-examination  was 
going  on,  under  shadow  of  the  passport,  contrived  to  slip  it 
up  his  back  under  his  coat,  and,  when  he  was  at  length 
released,  carried  it  off  in  safety.  By  this  time  the  five  hours 
had  been  spent— or  wasted  ! 

A  little  north  of  Brest  begins  the  vast  forest  of  Bela- 
I'eja,  peopled  by  wild  bisons,  sometimes  wrongly  called 
aurochs,  an  animal  which  once  existed  here,  but  which 
became  extinct  three  centuries  ago.1  It  is  forbidden  under 

1  Blaise  de  Vigener,  Description  du  royaume  de  Pologne  et pays  adjacents. 


POLISH  HISTORY.  485 

severe  penalties  to  shoot  or  capture  the  bisons,  but  the 
Emperor  sometimes  presents  them  to  sovereigns,  to  Zoologi- 
cal Gardens,  or  to  his  friends.  As  late  as  1851  there  were 
1,400  of  these  animals,  but  since  then  wolves  and  want  of 
food  have  reduced  them  by  half ;  indeed,  if  they  were  not 
fed  in  winter  they  would  soon  all  become  extinct. 

Before  dark  we  had  entered  Poland,  whose  very  name 
is  a  symbol  of  national  misfortune.  That  name  is  all  that 
remains  of  its  ancient  independence,  and  alone  distinguishes 
it  from  the  rest  of  the  Emperor's  vast  dominions.  Warsaw 
is  now  merely  a  Russian  citadel,  and  Cracow  the  chief  town 
of  an  Austrian  province,  but  the  imperial  treasury  of  Russia 
finds  Poland  the  most,  populous  and  industrious,  as  well  as 
the  most  hardly-taxed  province  of  the  empire. 

The  proudest  days  of  Polish  history  are  connected  with 
the  great  House  of  Jagellon,  which  entered  the  country 
upon  the  marriage,  in  1386,  of  Ladislaus  II.  Jagellon,  Duke 
of  Lithuania,  with  Hedwige,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Louis, 
King  of  Hungary,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Ladislaus  I. 
Hedwige  died  childless,  but  Ladislaus  Jagellon,  who  had 
been  made  King  of  Poland  upon  his  marriage  with  her, 
became  the  founder  of  a  line  of  kings  by  his  second  marriage 
with  Anne,  daughter  of  William,  Count  of  Cilli,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Casimir  the  Great.  Four  generations  later,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  Sigismund  III.  could  aspire  to  the 
sovereignty  of  all  the  east  and  west  of  Europe.  In  hearing 
so  often  of  the  oppression  of  the  Poles  by  Russia,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  remember  the  time  (1605)  when  Russia  was  oppressed 
by  the  Poles,  when  there  was  even  a  Polish  partition  of 
Russia.  The  ruin  of  Poland  was  accelerated  by  its  want  of 
natural  boundaries,  but  was  chiefly  caused  by  the  great 


486  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

power  of  the  nobles,  and  their  refusal  to  take  their  share  in 
the  national  expenses.  What  was  celled  a  republic  was 
really  a  confederation  of  thousands  of  despotic  sovereignties 
and  there  was  no  connecting  link  between  the  upper  and 
the  lower  classes ;  the  Jews,  who  still  monopolise  all  the  com- 
merce and  profits  of  the  country,  representing  the  middle. 

It  was  still  very  hot  weather  when  we  reached  Warsaw, 
but  the  trains  were  prevented  coming  in  from  Moscow  by 
the  deep  snow.  In  the  terrible  Russia,  winter  had  already 
set  in,  for  it  was  the  end  of  September,  the  month  of  gloom 
and  dismal  forebodings.  'As  surly  as  September,'  'He  has 
the  thoughts  of  September,'  are  Russian  sayings. 

What  a  luxury  it  was  to  reach  the  excellent  Hotel  de 
r Europe  at  Warsaw  !  What  a  change  from  all  Russian 
hotels  ! 

In  spite  of  political  depression  also,  the  people  of  Warsaw 
appeared  to  us  wonderfully  lively  and  cheerful  compared  with 
the  Russians.  Michelet,1  who  calls  the  Lithuanians  'fils  de 
1'ombre,'  speaks  of  the  Poles  as  'fils  de  soleil,'  and  they 
seemed  to  us  to  deserve  it.  The  writings  of  the  great 
national  poet  Mickiewicz  -  are  full  of  vigour  and  animation, 
and  free  from  the  constant  melancholy  of  Russian  authors. 
The  streets  are  bright  and  handsome,  and  the  noble  Vistula, 
which  traverses  Poland  from  the  south  to  the  north,  flows 
magnificently  through  the  town. 

Close  to  the  bridge  stands  the  handsome  Palace  of  the 
former  kings.  It  was  chiefly  built  by  Sigismund  III.,  who 
is  represented  in  a  bronze  statue  on  a  pillar,  in  the  square 
opposite  the  entrance.  The  portraits  of  his  predecessors  by 
Bacciarelli,  with  which  Sigismund  adorned  its  apartments, 

1  Lcgcndes  du  Nord.  2  Never  translated  into  English 


THE   PLAIN   OF   VOLA.  487 

have  been  carried  off  to  Moscow,  and  are  now  in  the  Krem- 
lin. The  thirteenth  century  Cathedral  close  by,  hung  with 
archiepiscopal  portraits,  strikes  those  who  arrive  from  Russia 
by  its  Gothic  architecture.  One  had  quite  forgotten  what 
Gothic  was  like  in  that  country  !  Beyond  the  cathedral  is 
the  old  town,  with  narrow  streets  of  tall  houses,  like  the 
Faubourg  S.  Antoine  at  Paris. 

One  side  of  the  Hotel  de  1'Europe  looks  down  upon  the 
gloomy  Saxony  Square^  beyond  which  is  a  pleasant  little  public 
garden,  and  further  still  a  bazaar.  The  street  of  the  Cracow 
Faubourg  and  the  Novi  Sviat  (New  World)  Street  lead  to  a 
pretty  little  church  dedicated  to  S.  Alexander,  and  built  by 
Alexander  I.  in  1815.  Beyond  this  it  may  be  well  to  take 
a  carriage  down  the  avenues  to  the  pretty  little  suburban 
palace  and  park  of  Lazienki,  built  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  by  the  last  miserable  king,  Stanislaus  Augustus 
Poniatowski,  and  looking,  with  its  canals,  and  bridges,  and 
flowers  in  tubs,  as  Reclus  describes  it,  like  a  '  Scene  de 
theatre  en  plein  air.' 

From  the  outside  of  the  Lazienki  Park  the  road 
descends  into  the  dusty  plain  of  Vola,  where  as  many  as 
200,000  Polish  nobles  used  to  encamp  during  the  hotly  dis- 
puted royal  elections.  In  the  midst  of  the  plain  were  two 
enclosures — one  for  the  senate,  the  other  for  the  nuncios. 
The  first  was  oblong,  surrounded  by  a  rampart,  in  the  midst 
of  which,  at  the  time  of  the  election,  a  temporary  building 
of  wood  is  erected,  called  szopa,  covered  at  the  top  and 
open  at  the  sides.  Near  it  was  another  enclosure  for  the 
nuncios  of  a  circular  form,  from  which  it  derives  the  name 
of  kola  or  circle.  Within  this  was  no  building,  the  nuncios 
assembling  in  the  open  air.  When  the  chambers  were 


488  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

united  they  met  within  the  kola  ;  the  chairs  for  the  senators 
and  the  benches  for  the  nuncios  being  ranged  in  the  same 
order  as  in  the  senate-house  at  Warsaw,  the  seat  of  the 
primate  occupying  the  central  place. 

On  the  day  on  which  the  diet  opened,  the  primate, 
senate,  and  nobility  first  heard  mass  and  a  sermon  in  the 
cathedral  of  Warsaw,  and  thence  proceeded  to  the  plain  of 
Vola.  The  senators  entered  the  szopa,  the  nuncios  the  kola, 
whilst  the  other  nobles  remained  in  the  open  plain  ;  but 
after  the  separate  meetings,  senate  and  nuncios  united  in 
the  kola,  where  the  primate  set  the  subjects  for  consideration 
before  them. 

The  day  of  election  was  one  of  the  most  striking  sights 
it  was  possible  to  witness.  The  senate  and  nuncios  met  in 
the  kola,  the  nobles  in  the  open  field  under  the  different 
standards  of  their  palatinates.  Then  the  primate,  declaring 
the  names  of  the  candidates,  knelt  in  the  open  air  and 
chaunted  a  hymn,  followed  by  the  whole  assembly.  After- 
wards the  senators  and  nuncios  joined  the  nobles  of  their 
palatinates,  and  the  primate  went  round  in  a  carriage  or 
on  horseback  to  the  different  bodies  to  collect  the  votes, 
declaring  afterwards  who  was  the  successful  candidate.  On 
the  following  day  all  returned  to  the  plain,  and  the  successful 
candidate  being  again  proclaimed,  a  deputy  was  despatched 
to  him  to  announce  his  election,  as  no  candidate  was  allowed 
to  be  present  till  the  elections  were  concluded.1 

A  Polish  noble  is  by  law  a  person  who  possesses  a  free- 
hold estate,  who  can  prove  his  descent  from  ancestors 
formerly  possessing  a  freehold,  who  follows  no  trade  or 
commerce,  and  who  is  at  liberty  to  choose  his  own  habita- 

1  See  the  interesting  account  of  the  Polish  elections  in  Coxe's  Travels. 


VILLANOV. 


489 


tion  ;  this  description  naturally  includes  all  who  are  above 
the  rank  of  burghers  or  peasants.  The  peasants  were 
'  assigned  to  the  soil,'  and  compelled  to  cultivate  the  land  of 
the  nobles,  in  return  for  that  allotted  to  themselves. 

It  is  necessary  to  have  two  horses  to  drag  a  drosky  along 
the  road  like  a  ploughed  field  which  crosses  the  plain  to 
Villanov,  a  charming,  interesting,  well-kept  '  great  house '  of 
the  Potocki — the  Holland  House  of  Warsaw.  It  was  built  by 


PALACE    OF    VILI.ANOV. 


the  famous  John  Sobieski  (John  III.),  and  was  sold  after  his 
death.  Here  he  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life — an  un- 
happy life,  as  he  had  no  peace  in  the  diet  from  the  jealousy 
of  the  nobles,  and  no  peace  at  home  from  the  brawls  of  his 
parsimonious  French  wife,  Marie  de  la  Grange,  with  her 
children.  This  imperious  woman  also  contrived  to  alienate 
the  affection  of  his  subjects  and  to  render  the  close  of  his 


490  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

reign  unpopular.  On  his  deathbed,  Zaluski,  bishop  of 
Plotsko,  endeavoured  in  vain  to  persuade  him  to  make  his 
will.  '  My  orders  are  not  attended  to  while  I  am  alive,'  he 
said,  'how  can  I  expect  them  to  be  obeyed  when  I  am 
dead  ? '  On  the  day  of  his  birth,  which  was  also  that  of  his 
election,  he  died.  The  hatred  of  the  queen  for  her  eldest 
son,  John  Sobieski,  then  led  her  to  oppose  his  election,  to 
make  public  speeches  against  him,  and  even  in  order  to 
prevent  his  being  king  to  persuade  the  Poles  to  choose  any 
candidate  rather  than  one  of  her  own  children.  Their 
choice  fell  on  Augustus,  Elector  of  Saxony,  but  when  he 
was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Clissow,  veneration  for  the 
name  of  Sobieski  induced  Charles  XII.  to  offer  the  crown 
to  James  Sobieski.  This  young  prince,  however,  being  at 
Breslau  at  the  time,  was  seized  (1704)  by  Saxon  horsemen 
with  his  brother  Constantine,  and  imprisoned  at  Pleissen- 
burg  near  Leipsic,  and  afterwards  at  Konigstein.  Mean- 
while Augustus  had  abdicated,  but  Stanislaus  Letzinski  had 
been  elected  in  his  place,  so  that  James  Sobieski  died  without 
a  kingdom  in  1737,  at  Zolkiev  in  Russia,  the  name  of  Sobieski 
becoming  extinct  in  his  person.  From  his  elder  daughter, 
married  to  the  Prince  de  Turenne,  several  noble  French 
families  are  descended  ;  his  younger  daughter,  Clementina, 
was  married  at  Montefiascone  in  1719  to  James  Edward 
Stuart,  the  Chevalier  de  S.  George,  and  died  in  1735,  the 
mother  of  Charles  Edward,  and  Henry,  Cardinal  York. 

The  palace  of  Villanov  was  sold  after  the  death  of  the 
great  Sobieski,  and  the  reliefs  on  the  outside,  representing 
his  victories,  were  not  put  up  by  that  modest  king,  but  by 
Augustus  II.,  by  whom  the  house  was  afterwards  occupied. 
It  contains  stately  old  rooms,  decorated  with  portraits  and 


CRACOW.  491 

cabinets.  Sobieski  himself  and  Marie  de  la  Grange  are 
repeatedly  represented  ;  there  is  also  a  picture  gallery  filled 
with  indifferent  copies,  and  a  very  few  originals.  Several 
small  rooms  are  prettily  decorated  in  Chinese  taste,  with 
Chinese  curiosities,  The  gardens,  skirted  by  water,  are 
pleasant  and  old-fashioned.  On  the  green-sward  near  the 
handsome  church  stands  a  great  Gothic  tomb  of  the  Potocki. 

A  journey  of  one  night  takes  the  traveller  from  Warsaw 
to  Cracow  (Krakau),  which  has  a  beautiful  effect  from  a 
distance,  its  high  rock-built  castle  and  noble  churches 
relieved  against  a  most  delicate  distant  chain  of  jagged  Car- 
pathian mountains.  Nor  is  there  any  illusion  to  be  dispelled 
as  we  drive  from  the  station  under  the  grand  old  gateway, 
and  enter  the  narrow  street  of  stately  houses  which  leads  to 
the  principal  square. 

Most  of  the  hotels  in  Cracow  are  horrible,  but  the  Hotel 
de  Saxe  is  good  and  comfortable,  and  the  '  Dresdenski '  en- 
durable. Most  appalling  of  aspect  is  the  population,  almost 
entirely  Jewish,  all  the  men  in  corkscrew  curls,  tall  hats  and 
long  gowns,  and  the  women,  even  the  youngest  and  best- 
looking,  with  their  heads  shaved,  and  in  wigs.  The  other 
costumes,  once  worn  by  all  classes  of  society,  have  disap- 
peared, though  up  to  the  time  of  King  Stanislaus  Augustus, 
even  the  kings  wore  the  national  costume,  and  shaved  their 
heads,  leaving  only  a  circle  of  hair  upon  the  crown,  and  all 
the  nobles  did  the  same. 

The  grand  Gothic  Marienkirche  stands  in  the  principal 
square.  Internally,  it  is  one  of  the  most  striking  churches 
in  southern  Germany,  and  glorious  in  its  rich,  yet  subdued 
colouring.  It  contains  good  carving  by  the  native  artist 
Veit  Stoss,  1447,  and  the  tomb  of  Casimir  (Jagellon)  III., 


492 


STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 


1444-94,  who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Emperor 
Albert  II.  A  little  behind  is  the  intensely  picturesque 
church  and  porch  of  S.  Barbara. 

A  street  leads  from  the  square  to  the  bridge  over 
the  Vistula,  near  which  the  artist  will  find  a  very  striking 
view,  with  beautiful  mountain  distance.  On  the  right  rises 
the  castle  rock,  at  the  base  of  which  Krak,  the  traditional 
founder  of  the  town,  is  said  to  have  killed  a  dragon  in  a 


CITADEL   OF    CRACOW. 


cave.  The  castle — the  palace  of  the  ancient  Polish  kings — 
is  most  picturesque,  but  is  now  partly  a  barrack  and  partly 
a  hospital.  Just  writhin  the  gate,  through  a  porch  hung 
with  bones  of  a  mammoth,  we  enter  the  cruciform  Cathedral, 
in  the  centre  of  which  a  tabernacle,  like  that  of  S.  Criso- 
gcno  at  Rome,  covers  a  silver  shrine  containing  the  relics 
of  S.  Stanislaus,  Bishop  of  Cracow,  and  patron  of  Poland. 
Boleslas  II.,  whom  he  had  rebuked  for  his  cruelties  and 


CRACOW.  493 

debaucheries,  beheaded  him  with  his  own  hand  at  the  altar. 
All  the  Polish  kings,  from  the  time  of  Ladislaus  Loketec 
Cr333)  lie  here,  except  Louis  and  Ladislaus  III.,  who  are 
buried  in  Hungary,  Alexander,  buried  at  Vilra,  Henry  of 
Valois,  and  Augustus  III.  The  laws  of  Poland  ordained 
that  the  body  of  a  deceased  king  should  first  be  carried  to 
Warsaw,  where  it  should  remain  till  the  election  of  a  new 
sovereign.  Then  it  was  moved  in  state  to  Cracow,  and  two 
days  before  the  coronation,  preceded  by  all  the  great  officers 
of  State,  with  their  rods  of  office  pointing  to  the  ground, 
was  carried  to  the  church  of  S.  Stanislaus,  where  the  burial 
service  was  performed,  after  which  it  was  taken  to  the 
cathedral.  It  was  peculiar  to  the  laws  of  Poland  that  the 
funeral  of  the  deceased  king  should  immediately  precede  a 
coronation,  and  that  the  king-elect  should  attend  the  obse- 
quies of  his  predecessor,  to  impress  him  with  the  uncertainty 
of  human  grandeur.  The  tombs  are  mostly  of  red  marble, 
and  very  magnificent.  One  of  the  most  striking  is  that  of 
Casimir  III.,  the  Great  (born  1309,  crowned  1333),  whose 
reign  was  the  golden  age  of  Poland.  .He  enlarged  and 
secured  his  dominions,  built  some  towns  and  beautified 
others.  The  historian  Dlugosz,  who  flourished  in  the  next 
century,  says  of  him  as  has  been  said  of  Augustus, '  He  found 
Poland  of  wood,  and  left  her  of  marble.'  He  introduced  a 
regular  code  of  laws,1  was  always  easy  of  access,  and  the 
privileges  he  granted  to  the  peasants  induced  the  nobles  to 
call  him  derisively  '  Rex  rusticorum.'  He,  was  killed  whilst 
hunting,  by  a  fall  from  his  horse,  in  his  sixtieth  year. 

Next  to  Casimir  lies  Ladislaus  II.,  the  first  of  the  House 
of  Jagellon,  once  Duke  of  Lithuania,   and  a  pagan,  who 

1  The  first  book  printed  in  Poland  was  the  Constitutions  of  Casimir  the  Great. 


494  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

obtained  the  crown  of  Poland  (after  embracing  Christianity) 
on  nis  marriage  with  Hedwige,  younger  daughter  of  King 
Louis  of  Hungary  and  Poland.1  Amongst  the  tombs  of  his 
descendants  are  those  of  Sigismund,  the  great  protector  of 
arts  and  sciences,  and  his  son  Sigismund  (II.)  Augustus,  who 
nearly  lost  his  crown  for  his  gallant  devotion  to  his  wife, 
Barbara  Radzivill.  In  this  prince  terminated  the  hereditary 
influence  which  gave  tranquillity  to  the  diets  of  election,  and 
the  cabals  and  dissensions  began  which  were  fatal  to  the 
political  importance  of  Poland. 

The  first  of  the  new  succession  buried  here  is  Stephen 
Bathori,  Prince  of  Transylvania,  elected  in  1576,  on  the 
abdication  of  Henry  of  Valois.  He  owed  his  crown  to  his 
marriage  with  Anne,  daughter  of  Sigismund  I.  Next  lies 
his  successor,  Sigismund  III.,  son  of  John  III.  of  Sweden, 
(by  Catherine  Jagellon,  daughter  of  Sigismund  I.),  who  was 
elected  in  1587  to  revive  the  Jagellon  line  on  the  female 
side.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father  in  1592,  he  obtained 
the  crown  of  Sweden  also,  but  lost  authority  there,  and  was 
eventually  deposed,  owing  to  his  partiality  for  Poland. 
Near  Sigismund  lie  his  two  sons,  Ladislaus  IV.,  an  admi- 
rable king,  and  John  Casimir,  who  became  a  Jesuit  priest 
at  Rome,  and  even  a  cardinal,  but  was  absolved  from  his 
vows  by  the  Pope  on  his  brother's  death,  and  received  a 
dispensation  to  marry  his  brother's  widow,  Louisa  Maria 
of  Nevers,  who  practically  ruled  Poland  in  his  name.  He 
was  brave,  but,  as  he  preferred  peace  to  war,  he  was  accused 
by  the  Polish  nobles  of  pusillanimity,  and,  abdicating  in 
the  twentieth  year  of  his  reign,  retired  to  France,  where 

1  Her  elder  sister,  Maria,  was  passed  over  because  she  was  married  to  the  too- 
powerful  Emperor  Sigismund. 


CRACOW.  495 

he  again  became  an  ecclesiastic,  and  died  at  Nevers  in 
1672. 

The  Potocki  Chapel  contains  a  fine  figure  of  Christ,  and 
a  statue  by  Thonvaldsen  of  Count  Vladimir  Potocki,  killed 
in  1812  before  Moscow. 

Through  a  trapdoor  on  the  right  of  the  entrance  visitors 
descend  to  the  vaults,  which  are  filled  with  sarcophagi. 
The  place  of  honour  is  occupied  by  John  Sobieski  ('Malleus 
Ottomanorum '),  who  was  equally  great  in  military  courage 
and  in  peaceful  sagacity.  His  tomb  is  half  hidden  by  flags 
and  garlands.  When  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  gazed  upon 
it  he  exclaimed,  '  What  a  pity  that  so  great  a  man  should 
ever  die  ! ' !  The  sarcophagus  of  Joseph  Poniatowski,  the 
great  general,  who  died  nobly  fighting  in  the  battle  of 
Leipsic,  bears  his  crown,  sceptre,  and  sword.  The  cele- 
brated Polish  dictator,  Thaddeus  Kosciusko,  who  died  at 
Soleure  in  1817,  has  been  brought  hither  to  rest  amongst 
the  heroes  of  his  country. 

In  the  University  is  a  statue  of  Copernicus,  who  was  one 
of  its  professors,  and  is  buried  in  the  church  of  S.  Anne. 
Its  flourishing  time  was  in  the  sixteenth  century,  under 
Sigismund  Augustus,  when  several  of  the  German  reformers 
who  fled  from  the  persecutions  under  Charles  V.  found  a 
refuge  there. 

Beautiful  public  walks  surround  the  town,  with  many 
striking  points  of  view  of  the  picturesque  walls  built  by 
WTenceslaus,  King  of  Bohemia,  during  the  short  time  he 
reigned  over  Poland.  There  are  some  remains  of  the  Palace 
ofCasimir  the  Great  (1300- 1370),  and  in  the  garden  a  barrow, 
which  was  the  tomb  of  his  mistress,  the  Jewish  Esther,  to 

1  He  is  celebrated  in  the  ode  of  Filicaia  :  'Non  perche  re  sei  tu,  si  grande  sei.' 


496  STUDIES  IN  RUSSIA. 

whom  the  Jews  are  supposed  to  owe  the  numerous  privi- 
leges which  they  enjoy  in  Poland,1  *  the  paradise  of  the  Jews.' 
Here  in  Cracow  it  may  truly  be  said  that  '  if  you  ask  for  an 
interpreter,  they  bring  you  a  Jew ;  if  you  come  to  an 
inn,  the  landlord  is  a  Jew  ;  if  you  want  post  horses,  a  Jew 
procures  them,  and  a  Jew  drives  them  ;  ?nd  if  you  wish  to 
purchase,  a  Jew  is  your  agent.' 

An  excursion  of  three  miles  should  be  made  to  the  hill 
of  Bronislawdy  on  the  top  of  which  Kosciusko's  heart  is 
buried  in  a  great  mound,  with  the  earth  of  which  soil  from 
all  the  Polish  battle-fields  is  said  to  be  mingled.  There  is 
a  beautiful  view  of  Cracow  from  hence. 


Travellers  will  probably  return  to  England  from  Cracow 
by  way  of  Breslau  (Hotel  Goldene  Cans),  a  beautiful  old 
city,  with  an  interesting  cathedral  and  churches,  and  the 
most  picturesque  Rathhaus  in  Germany. 

1  For  the  sake  of  this  mistress  Casimir  was  excommunicated  by  the  Bishop  of 
Cracow,  a  severity  for  which  the  bishop  was  imprisoned  in  a  dungeon,  and  eventually 
drowned  by  night  in  the  Vistula. 


INDEX. 


A. 


Abo,  165 

Adrian,  the  patriarch,  231 

Agourtzi,  popularity  of,  27 

Aleviso,  Antonio,  218 

Alexander  I.,  70,  76,  96,  117,  127, 

141,  161,  305,  487 
Alexander  II.,  43,  98,  99,  109,  120 
Alexander  III.,  34,  223 
Alexander  Nevskoi,  S.,  74,  185 
Alexander,  Prince  of  Tver,  199 
Alexandra,  the  Empress,  98 
Alexandrine,  Grand  Duchess,  141 
Alexandrovsky,  314 
Alexis    Michailovitch,     Tsar,    248, 

374,  380,  382,  385,  387 
Alexis  Petrovitch,  94-96,  216 
Alexis,  S.,  the  tomb  of,  276 
Ambrose,  Metropolitan,  340 
Andrew  III.,  Grand  Prince,  235 
Andrew,  S.,  437 
Anna  Petrovna,  98 
Anne,  Empress,  92,  222,  249 
Anne,  Grand  Princess,  443,  455 
Anne,  S.,  184 

Anthony,  S.,  of  Kieff,  463,  464,  469 
Anthony,  S.,  the  Roman,  189 
Askold,  the  Varagian  prince,  438, 

474 
Atamans,  the,  432 


B. 

Baboushka,  the,  412 
Bati  Khan,  457 
Bear-hunting,  146 


Beatified   Redeemer,    sect    of    the, 

296 

Beglovestnie,  the,  296 
Bela  Veja,  forest  of,  484 
Beleff,  310 
Benediction  of  the  Waters — 

at  Moscow,  279 

at  S.  Petersburg,  49 
Besyedy,  the,  151 
Bethany,  hermitages  of,  354 
Bielo-Ozero,  monastery  of,  180,  425 
Boat  of  Peter  the  Great— 

at  the  fortress  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  loo 

on  Lake  Ladoga,  149 

on  Lake  Plestcheief,  357 
Boris,  the  sainted  prince,  477 
Boris  Godunof,  the  Tsar,  222,  236, 

245,  272,  305,  347,  348 
Borsch,  26 

Boundaries,  marking  the,  434 
Boyarin,  the,  401 
Breslau,  496 
Brest,  483 
Bribery,  19,  31 
Burning  of  Moscow,  308 
Bylini,  the,  179 


C. 


Catherine  I.,  89,  90,  123,  138 

Catherine  II.,  53,  54,  70,  72,  73,  83, 
84,  93,  103,  117,  118,  133,  137, 
139,  140,  270,  343,  345,  _!33 

Cheboksari,  362 

Christening  of  the  Cuckoos,  420 

Christenings,  397 


K  K 


498 


INDEX. 


Christianin,  the  name  of,  207 
Chudof  monastery,  276 
Church,  the  Russian,  317 
Clergy,  Black,  324-325 
White,  319-324 
Commune,  the,  152 
Constantine,  the  Grand  Duke,  98, 

127,  144 

Convents,  Russian,  325 
Cossacks,  430-435 
Cotton    factory   at    Schlusselburg, 

148 

Cracow,  491-496 
Crescent,  the,  on  churches,  220 
Crimean  War,  65 
Cronstadt,  132 
Custom  house,  30 
Cyprian,  the  Metropolitan,  228 
Cyril,  S.,  32 


D. 


Daniel  Alexandrovitch,  205 

Dantzic,  28 

Derjavine,  the  poet,  139 

Dir,  the  Varagian  prince,  438,  474 

Dishes,   favourite  Russian,  26,   27, 

203 

Dissenters,  Russian,  296-305 
Dmitri  Donskoi,  219,  237 
Dmitri,  the  false,  254,  256 
Dmitri  Ivanovitch,  Prince,  200,  246- 

247 

Dmitri  of  the  Terrible  Eyes,  199 
Dnieper,  the,  437,  476 
Dolgorouki,  the  family  of,  100 
Prince  Ivan,  312 
Domostroi,  the  book  called  the,  409, 

411 

Domovoy,  the,  155 
Don,  the  river,  429 
Donskoi,  the  monastery  of,  339 
Dosythea,  grave  of,  329 
Drosky,  the,  35 
Droujina,  the,  179,  367 
Duderhof  Hills,  the,  137 
Dunaborg,  34 


E. 

Easter,  252,  253,  421 
Elijah,  S.,  133 


Elizabeth,  the  Empress,  72,  91,  130, 

139,  272,  329 
Elizabeth  Alexievna,  the  Empress, 

96 

Epiphania,  49 

Eudoxia,  the  Grand  Princess,  273 
Eudoxia,  the  Tsaritsa,  159,  216,  275 
Exiles  to  Siberia,  309 


F. 

Falls  of  Imatra,  164 

Fasts,  the  Russian,  25,  419,  420 

Fathers,  the  Greek,  316 

Feodor  Borisvitch,  254,  348 

Feodor  Ivanovitch,  the  Tsar,   245, 

388,  391 

Finland,  159-165 
Fioraventi,  Aristoteli,  223 
Fireflies,  480 

Fir  trees,  contempt  for,  343 
Fletcher,  Dr.  Giles,  211 
Forests,  145,  166 
Friday,  the  Russian,  423 
Funerals,  413-417 


G. 

Gatschina,  14 

Gelinotte,  the,  146 

George  Vladimirovitz,  205 

Gethsemane,  255 

Gleb,  the  sainted  prince,  477 

Gogol,  66,  433,  434,  475,  476,  479, 

480 
Gostinnoi  Dvor — 

at  Moscow,  207 

at  S.  Petersburg,  70 


H. 

Harakka,  165 

Helsingfors,  165 

Helena,  the  Grand  Princess,  203 

Henry,  S.,  160,  165 

Herbestein,  Baron  d',  206 

Hermogenes,  the  patriarch,  229,  276 

Holy  Thursday,  251 


INDEX. 


499 


Iborsk,  180 

Icons,  14-15,  103,  154-155,  236 


Igera,  176 
Ilia  M 


Mourometz,  193,  471 
Ilmen,  lake,  170 
Ilyink,  310 
Imatra,  164 

Intemperance,  23-25,  290 
Ipatief,  359 

Irene,  the  Tsaritsa,  268,  274,  335 
Isaiaslaf,   the  Grand   Prince,    445, 

456,  477 

Ivan  Alexievitch,  249,  260 
Ivan  the  Great,  179,  218,  238,  239, 

262,  270,  350,  351 
Ivan  Kalita,  205,  238,  239,  277 
Ivan  the  Terrible,  34,  173,  174,  178, 

210,  212-214,  230,  242-245,  262, 

267,  268,  270,  274,  346,  352 
Ivan  Vassilievitch  II.,  349 
Ivan  II.,  239 
Ivan  VI.  ,  the  death  of,  157-159 


J. 

Jagellon,  the  house  of,  485 
the  tombs  of,  493 
Jerusalem,  monastery  of  the  New, 

369.  389 

Jews  in  Poland,  491,  496 
oasaph,  the  Metropolitan,  351 
onah,  S.,  227 


Kieff— 

Chapel  of  S.  Vladimir,  451 

Church  of  S.  Andrew,  458 
of  S.  Basil,  452 
of  S.  Cyril,  452 
of  Desiatinnaya,  453 

Convent  of  the  Ascension,  460 

Golden  Gate,  452 

Lebed,  459 

Monastery,  Bratski,  459 
of  S.  Michael,  447 

Pecherskoe,  461-475 

Podol,  459 

Statue  of  S.  Vladimir,  460 

University,  460 
Klin,  200 

Kolieda,  feast  of,  476 
Koltsov,  the  poet,  411,  478 
Konigsberg,  29 
Korsakof,  140 

Korsin,  queen  of  Sweden,  165 
Kosciusko,  Thaddeus,  495,  496 
Kostia,  27 
Kostroma,  359 
Kourganes,  435 
Krasnoe  Selo,  144 
Kremlin,  the  name  of,  221 
Krilof,  the  fabulist,  71,  no 
Kriukova,  369 

Kulikovo,  battle  of,  237,  239 
Kursk,  429 
Kutusof,  70,  103 
Kvass,  191 


K. 

Kalevala,  the,  162,  165 

Kalieki,  the  singers  called,  192 

Kanev,  482 

Karliki,  the,  18 

Kazan,  363 

Kazan,  Our  Lady  of,  70 

Kaziatin,  483 

Khaloff,  356 

Khlistovatchina,  the,  297 

Kibitka,  the,  196 

Kieff— 

Berestof,  459 

Boritchef,  ravine  of,  453 

Catacombs,  469 

Cathedral  of  S.  Sophia,  447-451 


Lake  Ilmen,  170 

Ivanozero,  429 

Ladoga,  147 

Plestche"ief,  357 
Language,  the  Russian,  13,  31 
Lanskoi,  the  death  of,  140 
Lazienki,  487 
Lent,  420 

Lomonossof,  the  poet,  43,  131,  139 
Lyeshie,  the,  13,  167 


M. 

Macarius,  S.,  451 

Mamai,  the  Tartar,  219,  239 

K  K  2 


500 


INDEX. 


Maria,  the  Tsaritsa,  wife  of  Boris 
Godunof,  254,  342,  348 

Maria,  queen  of  Livonia,  349 

Marie  Alexandrovna,  the  Empress, 
98 

Marie  Feodorovna,  the  Empress,  96, 
119,  144 

Marie  de  la  Grange,  queen  of  Po- 
land, 489 

Marie,  Grand  Duchess,  128 

Marienburg,  29 

Marina,  wife  of  the  false  Dmitri,  272, 
276 

Marly,  house  of  Peter  the  Great  at, 
128 

Marpha,   the    Tsaritsa,    200,    247, 

Marriages,  401-409 

Martha  Beretska,  172 

Martyrs,  the  Greek,  317 

Mazeppa,  459 

Mentchikoff,  47,  91,  123 ;  graves  of 

parents  of,  305 
Methodius,  S. ,  32 
Michael  II.,  the  Grand  Prince,  198 
Michael    Feodorovitch,    the   Tsar, 

229,  248,  263,  359 
Minin,  the  patriot,  208 
Mir.t  he,  153 
Miskevickz,  the  poet,  37 
Mistislaf,  the  Grand  Prince,  183 
Moleben,  189 
Monastery,  Abramief,  426 

Bielo-Ozero,  425 

Bratski,  459 

Chudof,  276 

Donskoi,  339 

Ipatief,  359 

New  Jerusalem,  369,  389 

Novo  Devichi,  332 

Novospaski,  326 

Pecherskoe  of  Kieff,  462 

Pecherskoe  of  Pskoff,  34 

Peryn,  426 

of  S.  Cyril,  388,  425' 

of  S.  Michael,  447 

of  S.  Alexander  Nevskoi,  74 

Simonof,  329 

JSmolnoi,  119 

Strasni,  314 

Solovetsky,  426 

Therapontoff,  387,  388 

Troitsa,  342 

Valamo,  148 


Monastery — 

Vydubitsky,  426 

Yurieff,  190 

Montplaisir,  palace  of,  131 
Moscow — 

Arsenal,  the,  277 

Bazaar,  207 

Bielogorod,  201 

Cathedral  of  the  Annunciation, 

of  the  Archangel,  238 

of  the  Assumption,  222 

of  the  Saviour,  282 
Church  of  S.  Basil  the  Beati- 
fied, 208 

of     the    Saviour     in     the 

Wood,  261 
Dom  Pashkova,  283 
Gate  of  S.  Nicholas,  278 

Borovitski,  278 

of  the  Redeemer,  216 

Troitski,  278 
Granitovaya  Palata,  262 
Hospital,  Foundling,  281 

of  Michael  Shere"metief,  314 
Hotels,  204 

Iberian  Mother,  the,  286 
Ivan  Veliki,  222 
Khitaigorod,  the,  201,  202 
Krasnoi  Ploshtshad,  208 
Library  of  the  Patriarchs,  259 
Lobnoe  Miesto,  212 
Market,  Antiquity,  294 

Hair,  293 

Thief,  291 

Monastery,  Ascension,  273 
Chudof,  276 
Strasni,  314 
Palace  of  the  Kremlin,  2^3 

of  Petrofski,  306  " 
Park  of  Saloniki,  306 
Preobrajensk,  302 
Red  Square,  the,  208 
Redeemer  of    Smolensk,    the, 

216 

Romanoff  House,  285 
Sacristy  of  the  Patriarchs,  258 
Semlainogorod,  the,  206 
Slavonski  bazaar,  203 
Sloboda,  201 
Spaskoi  Verota,  216 
Statue  of  Minin,  208 

of  Pouchkine,  314 
Suharef  Tower,  293 


INDEX. 


501 


Moscow — 

Terem,  the,  254-268 
Tower  of  Ivan  Veliki,  250 
Transfiguration  Cemetery,  302 
Treasury,  269-273 
Tsar  Kolokol,  222 
Moskva,  the  river,  219 
Mountains,  in  Russia,  197 
Mouravieff,  the  historian,  458 


N. 

Napoleon  I.  at  Moscow,  228,  307 
Natalia  Naryskin,  the  Tsaritsa,  249, 

257,  266 

National  hymn,  the,  145 
Nekrasov,  Nicholas,  poems  of,  341 
Neskstchnaya,  310 
Nestor,  the  chronicler,  471 
Neva,  the  river,  46-52 
Nicholas  I.,  the  Emperor,  43,  64, 

65,  97,  117,  132,  449 
Nihilist,  the  expression,  7 
Nijni  Novogorod,  360 
Nikita  Selianinovitch,  482 
Nikolskoi  Maros,  47 
Nikon,    the     patriarch,     374-394 ; 

memorials  in  the  cathedral  of 

the  Assumption  of,  234  ;  robes 

of,  258 

Novo  Devichi,  monastery  of,  332 
Novogorod  the  Great,  169 
Novospaski,  monastery  of,  326 


O. 

Official  peculation,  20 

Olaf,  S.,  176 

Oldenbergs,  tombs  of  the,  136 

Old  Ladoga,  159 

Oleg,  Moscow  founded  by,  205 

Kieff  seized  by,  439 
Olga,  the  Grand  Princess,  439,  477 
Oranienbaum,  123 
Orlof,  Alexis,  93,  125,  126,  127 

Gregory,  118 
Orthodox  Sunday,  327 
Ostankino,  311 
Otrepief,  Gregory,  256 


P. 


Palm  Sunday,  251,  420 

Paul,  the  Emperor,  54,  76,  96,  112- 

Paul  of  Tobolsk,  467 
Pawlovski,  palace  of,  144 
Peewits,  164 

Peresvet  and  Osliab,  330,  343 
Pereyaslavl,  357 
Peroun,  the  idol,  179,  453 
Peter  the  Great,  37,  38,  53,  81,  84, 
87,  89,  TOO,  102,  103,  120,  127, 
128,    161,   207,  215,  216,  257, 
272,  345.  347-  353.  357.  462 
Peter  II.,  94,  123,  159,  238,  250 
Peter  III.,  76,  92,  124-127,  130 
Peter,  S.,  the  metropolitan,  226 
Pet'erhof,  127-132 
Petersburg,  S. — 

Academy  of  Arts,  47 

of  Sciences,  47 
Admiralty,  52 
Alexander  Column,  40 
Theatre,  72 
Bazaar,  70 
Canal,  Fontanka,  73 

Moika,  69 
Cathedrals — 
Kazan,  69 
S.  Isaac,  54-63 
SS.   Peter  and    Paul,   86- 

100 
Churches — 

oldest  in  S.  Petersburg,  102 
S.  Alex.  Nevskoi,  75 
Preobrajenski,  118 
Convents — 

S.  A.  Nevskoi,  74 
Smolnoi,  119 
Cottage    of    Peter    the  Great, 

102 

Droskies  at,  35,  77 
Exchange,  82 
Fortress,  the,  101 
Garden,  Summer,  109-111 
Gostinnoi-dvor,  70 
Grandsire,  the  little,  100 
Hermitage,  the,  103-108 
Islands,  the,  79,  81-85 
Kammenoi  Ostrof,  83 
Krestovsky,  83 
Library,  the  Imperial,  72 
Monument  of  Krilof,  no 


502 


INDEX. 


Petersburg,  S.~ 

Monument  of  Pouchkine,  109 
Museum  Imperial  of  carriages, 

1 20 
of  relics  of  Peter  the 

Great,  106 

Nevskoi  Prospekt,  66-74 
Palaces — 

Annitshkoff,  73 
of  Mentchikoff,  47 
Michael,  112-177 
Summer,  109 
Taurida,  118 
Winter,  42-46 
Petropaulovski  Sobor,  86 
School  of  Naval  Cadets,  47 
Statues — 

Barclay  de  Tolly,  69 
Catherine  II.,  72 
Kutusof,  69 

Nicholas  Paulovitch,  64 
Peter  the  Great,  52,  168 
Tsarinskoi  Lug,  108 
Vassili  Ostrof,  81 
Yegalinskoi  Ostrof,  83 
Philaret,  the  metropolitan,  351,  355 
the  patriarch,  229,  231,  248 
Philip,  S.,  the  martyrdom  of,   198, 

230 

Photius,  228 
Plato,  the  metropolitan,  dwelling  of, 

354  ;  grave  of,  355 
Plestche"ief,  Lake,  357 
Plotniki,  the,  294 
Pojarskoi,  the  patriot,  208,  218 
Poniatowski,  Joseph,  the  tomb  of, 

498 

Potemkin,  Prince,  73,  106,  118,  138 
Pouchkine,  the  poet,  109 
Pravezh,  the,  18 
Pskoff,  34 


R- 

Radzivill,  Barbara,  494 
Railway  trains,  33,  427 
Raskolniks,  the,  298 
Rattiarve*,  163 
Recollection  Monday,  417 
Rotari,  pictures  by  Count,  130 
Riga,  34 
Rivers  of  Russia,  190 


Romanoff,  the  family  of,  88;  285 

Ropscha,  127 

Rostoff,  357 

Kubloff,  the  icon  painter,  135 

Rumiantsof,  467 

Rusalka,  the,  394 

Russia,  the  foundation  of,  180 


Samara,  365 
Sarai,  365 
Saratof,  365    • 

Saturday  of  S.  Demetrius,  418 
Sphlusselburg,  147-159 
Sects  in  Moscow,  296 
Selski  Skhod,  152 
Selski  Starosta,  152 
Serapion,  S.,  351 

Serfs,  cruelty  to,  12,  286  ;  the  eman- 
cipation of,  10-13  ;  rebellion  of, 

363 

Sergi,  monastery  of,  133-137 
Sergius,  S.,  239,  329,  343,  345,  346, 

356 

Serieffsky,  palace  of,  128 
Services  of  the  Russian  Church,  15, 

16,  59-62,  187,  250,  397-403 
Shemiaka,  the  usurper,  240 
Shere"me"tief,   palace  of  the  family, 

3J3 

Shtshee,  191,  197 
Shuiski,  Vassili,  248,  276 
Siberia,  exile  to,  18,  309 
Silence  of  the   Russian   character, 

27 

Simbirsk,  365 
Simeon  the  Proud,  the  Grand  Prince, 

239 

Simonof,  monastery  of,  329 
Skaziteli,  the  singers  called,  192 
Skoptzi,  the  sect  of  the,  297 
Sobieski,  John,  palace  of,  489;  tomb 

of.  495 

Solario  of  Milan,  179 
Solovetsky,  monastery  of,  426 
Solovief,    '  History   of   Russia '  by, 

3i3 

Sophia  Paleologus,  the  Grand  Prin- 
cess, 239,  270,  342 

Sophia,  the  Tsarevna,  215,  261,  267, 
271,  336-339 

Sparrow  Hills,  the,  307 


INDEX. 


503 


Spissatelli,  Giovanni,  225 

Spring,  the  sudden  burst  of,  133 

Stakoutchai,  32 

Stanislaus,  king  of  Poland,  119 

Stanislaus,  S.,  492 

Starosta,  the,  152 

Stephen  of  Perm,  S.,  261 

Strelna,  127 

Streltsi,  the,  257,  260 

Superstitions,  13,  i55-J56.  394-395- 

Suvarof,  76,  103 

Sviatoslaf,  the  Grand   Prince,  465, 

Synod,  the  most  holy,  232 


T. 


Tamerlane,  the  invasion  of,  228 

Tambof,  365 

Tatiana,  the  Tsarevna,  388 

Tarantass,  the,  369 

Taras    Shevchenko,  the  grave   of, 

482 

Tchernigov,  447,  456,  482 
Tchudova,  167,  197 
Theodosia,  the  Grand  Princess,  the 

grave  of,  177 

Theodosius,  S.,  463,  464,  469 
Theognostos,  S.,  206,  224,  227 
Therapontoff,  monastery  of,  388 
Thieves  in  Russia,  21-23,  148,  204, 

291-293 

Thursday,  Holy,  251 
Tver,  198 

Tourgue"neff,  the  novelist,  8,  20, 
149,  162,  168,  194,  195.  197.  3X3' 
332 

Torkel,  castle  founded  by,  163 
Traktomirof,  477 
Troitsa,  342-356 
Tsar,  the,  his  position  and  power, 

7-9  ;  title  of,  242 
Tsarskoe  Selo,  137-144 
Tula,  429 
Turberville,  George,  poems  of,  14, 

19 


U. 


Uncleanliness  of  Russians,  25-26 
Unction  of  children,  399 
Extreme,  412 


V. 

Valdai,  167 

Valamo,  148,  323 

Vassili  the  Blind,  the  Grand  Prince 

239,  240 
Vassili      Dmitrivitch,     the    Grand 

Prince,  239 
Vassili  Ivanovitch.the  Grand  Prince 

225,  240,  262,  277,  346 
Varenooka,  26 
Veche",  the,  34,  71 
Vefania,  353 
Village  life,  149-156,  34I-342.  395" 

418 

Villanov,  palace  of,  489 
Virgin  of  three  hands,  the,  393 
Visits  in  Russia,  284 
Vistula,  the  river,  29,  486 
Vitatchevo,  477 
Vladimir,  the  city  of,  366-368 
Vladimir  Monomachus,  the  Grand 

Prince,  445,  450 
Vladimir,  S.,  439-445,  453,  455,  456, 

460 

Vladimir  Yaroslavitch,  181 
Vladimir,  the  Virgin  of,  223 
Vodyannie,  the,  13,  394 
Vola,  plain  of,  487 
Volkoff,  the  river,  148,  170,  176,  178 
Volga,  the  river,  200,  358-365 
Voloss,  the  god,  459 
Vozdushnuie,  the  spirits  called,  13 
Vychegorod,  477 


W. 

Wallace,  D.  Mackenzie,  the  '  Rus- 
sia 'of,  12 
Warsaw,  486 
Wiborg,  162 
Wierzbolow,  30 
Wilna,  34 


Uglitch,  200 
Ukraine,  the,  431 


Xenia,  the  Tzarevna,  254,  255,  343 


504  INDEX. 


Y. 


Yaroslaf,  the  city  of,  357  Zakuska,  the,  203 

Yaroslaf,  the  Grand  Prince,  170,445,  Zaporoghians,  the,  432 

450,  456  Znamenska,  the  palace  of,  132 

Yemstchik,  the,  163  Zoritz,  140 
Yurieff  monastery,  190 


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